Faces from Montenegro’s Church Protests

Nikola Grdinic - civil society activist and a leader of the 'Odupri se' movement

Grdinic. Photo: BIRN

Nikola Grdinic was part the 'Odupri se', or Resist, movement that began protesting against the ruling DPS in February 2019. Organised by an informal group of intellectuals, academics, NGO activists and journalists, the 'Odupri se' protests began in the wake of corruption and organised crime allegations against Montenegro's political elite.

Grdinic said people were turning out again because of injustice.

"The citizens are aware that the government is bad and that it causes division in Montenegrin society," he told BIRN. "With this government Montenegro is making no progress. People want an alternative that is ready to stop the looting of state property." Grdinic characterised the latest church-led protests as an expression of popular resistance to what he said were laws passed to the detriment of others. The ruling DPS-led coalition made a mistake, he said, when it pushed the law through parliament in spite of opposition from the largest religious community in the country. "Like past protests, the source of the problems is the same - the government," Grdinic said. "The justified rebellion is expressed in the most peaceful way possible, and the goal is clear. We have the church as an undisputed authority and there is nothing anti-state or partisan in this story."

Marko Vesovic - journalist, daily newspaper Dan

Vesovic in one of protest. Photo: BIRN

Investigative journalist Marko Vesovic said the law was unconstitutional.

"I am going to every protest because the Montenegrin government has enacted an anti-European law, which brutally tramples on the right to peaceful enjoyment of...