Serbian Church Enthronement Sparks Clashes in Montenegro

Serbian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Joanikije is enthroned in Cetinje Monastery, Montenegro. Photo: Serbian Orthodox Church

Police used tear gas to break up the protests, while media reported that the former head of the police, Veselin Veljovic, was among those arrested.

Police reported that two officers were injured while eight protesters were arrested during the clashes in Cetinje.

As the roads to Cetinje were blocked by barricades and protesters, Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije and the new Metropolitan of Montenegro had to be transported to Cetinje by army helicopters. They were escorted to the monastery protected by bulletproof shields, while police used tear gas to disperse protests nearby.

Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic on Sunday called the riots in Cetinje an attempted terrorist act by the opposition, warning that an attack on the police was an attack on the state.

"It is completely clear that the perpetrators and organisers [of the protests] are the highest leadership of the [opposition] Democratic Party of Socialists in cooperation with organised criminal groups. The state will stop them," Krivokapic wrote on Twitter.

Protesters clashed with police after they set up roadblocks on Saturday, using tires, rocks and vehicles, trying to prevent clerics from coming to Cetinje. Police later broke up the barricades.

After the enthronement ceremony, the new Metropolitan Joanikije said it would take time to overcome the ethnic, political and religious divisions in Montenegro.

"A lot of divisions were seen in Cetinje, which were artificially caused. We did everything to avoid them, but we will need a lot of time," he said.

The US embassy in Podgorica called on all sides to urgently...