Albanian Language Media:

• COVID-19: 28 deaths, 489 new cases (media)
• Tens of thousands of Pfizer vaccines expected to arrive in Kosovo today (Koha)
• Svecla: Around 700 Afghans sheltered in Kosovo (RFE, Media)
• Vaccine confirmation or test, mandatory for Gjilan institutional employees (media)
• EU reiterates the European perspective for the Western Balkans (RFE, media)
• Former Kosovo ambassador comments on Montenegro situation (Albanianpost)
• Berisha: Vucic’s war calls, a threat to our nation and Kosovo (Telegrafi)
• Investigations on possible ties of two Serbs and Decan poisoning (Albanianpost)

Serbian Language Media:

• Covid-19 in Serbian communities: 33 new cases, two deaths (KoSSev)
• Stano: Chief negotiators of Belgrade and Pristina on September 7th and 8th in Brussels (Tanjug, RTS)
• Serbia aspires to EU, but it will not spoil relations with Russia and China, says Vucic (media)
• Who are the candidates for mayors in municipalities with a Serb majority (KiM radio, KoSSev)
• Vucic: Kosovo has a favorable position for Council of Europe membership (N1, FoNet, TV Prva)
• Petkovic and Jenca on the political situation in Kosovo, dialogue, and missing persons (KiM radio)
• Russian daily: Vucic opts for regional anxiety to divert attention from Serbia (N1, Beta)

International:

• Montenegro opposition accused of ‘coup attempt’ over Cetinje riots (BIRN)

Albanian Language Media  

COVID-19: 28 deaths, 489 new cases (media)

28 deaths from COVID-19 and 489 new cases with the virus were recorded in Kosovo in the last 24 hours. 859 persons recovered from the virus during this time. There are 25,290 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Tens of thousands of Pfizer vaccines expected to arrive in Kosovo today (Koha)

Tens of thousands of Pfizer vaccines against COVID-19 are expected to arrive in Kosovo today. One batch of the 500.000 vaccines donated by the United States of America will arrive today. Citing unnamed sources, the news website reports that in addition to the donation from the U.S., another 53.000 doses of Pfizer vaccines will arrive today as part of a contract between the Kosovo Ministry of Health and Pfizer.

Svecla: Around 700 Afghans sheltered in Kosovo (RFE, Media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Svecla said that so far 683 Afghan citizens have been temporarily housed in Kosovo.

Svecla noted that in addition to the Bechtel-Enka camp in Ferizaj, Afghans are now taking refuge in the US military camp, Bondsteel. There are currently 91 Afghans sheltered there.

He told Radio Free Europe that according to the plan, the arrival of Afghan citizens will continue this week.

Earlier, Kosovo authorities announced that they would shelter about 2,000 Afghan nationals who have worked with the United States and NATO member states.

According to the laws in force, Kosovo has given them temporary residence for up to one year.

They are expected to stay in Kosovo temporarily until their documentation is adjusted to eventually settle in the United States or a NATO member state.

The first group of Afghans arrived in Kosovo on 29 August.

Vaccine confirmation or test, mandatory for Gjilan institutional employees (media)

The mayor of Gjilan Lutfi Haziri has announced that so far 49 thousand 131 citizens of this municipality have been vaccinated.

Haziri has decided that from tomorrow, institutional workers will not be able to enter the workplace without confirmation of vaccination or test.

“Civil servants, including public officials, doctors, nurses, teachers, firefighters, technicians, etc., will not be able to enter their workplaces without confirmation of vaccination, PCR test or rapid antigen test,” Haziri stated.

Further, Haziri has again appealed to citizens to continue to be vaccinated, as the only way to prevent the worst.

EU reiterates the European perspective for the Western Balkans (RFE, media)

The European Union will reiterate its stance on the “European perspective” for the Western Balkans, during a summit of EU structures with Western Balkan leaders in early October in Slovenia.

This is stated in a draft statement prepared by the European bloc, provided by Radio Free Europe, which also talks about the orientation of the countries of the Western Balkans region towards the EU.

Slovenia, which holds the rotating EU presidency, has announced that the summit will be held in order to return the Western Balkans to the focus of EU policy. A similar summit was held in Sofia in 2019, then a virtual summit in Zagreb in 2020, while in 2022 another summit is planned to be held during the Czech presidency of the EU presidency, to welcome the commitment of the partners from the Western Balkans to the European perspective, which according to this document “is in the strategic interest and remains a common strategic solution”.

As in previous statements, similar summits are expected to reiterate calls for respect for the principles of democracy, the rule of law, freedom of the media, civil society, the fight against corruption and organized crime, minority rights and other criteria which are fundamental principles of the EU.

“Increased EU support will continue to depend on tangible progress in the area of ​​rule of law and socio-economic reforms, as well as on the commitment of partners to European values, rules and standards,” the draft statement prepared for the Brdo summit, to be held in early October said.

Also, according to this document, the countries of the region will be required to continue to align their positions and foreign policy with the common positions of the EU. Also, the leaders of the Western Balkan countries, who are mentioned in the document as “partners”, are asked to do more to explain to the citizens the importance of European institutions and that the EU is without a doubt the closest partner, the main investor and largest donor of aid to the region.

This call comes because in some Western Balkan countries there is an impression that other countries have helped more than the European Union.

“The unprecedented level of support must be fully visible and recognized by our partners in their public communications,” the document said.

The text of this draft statement also notes that the EU will urge the countries of the region to be committed to the goal of good neighborliness and to resolving all outstanding issues.

“Further determined steps are needed to strengthen regional reconciliation and stability, as well as to find and implement final inclusive binding solutions to bilateral disagreements between partners and issues that are rooted in the legacy of the past, in accordance with the principles of  international law, including the Succession Agreement,” it is stated in the text of this draft document, among others.

From this summit, according to the same text, it is expected to express full support for the efforts of the EU Special Envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak.

The message for dialogue is expected to be “concrete progress of the parties towards the full normalization of relations between them, which is key to the stability of the region.”

A large part of the text is also dedicated to the assistance that the EU has given and will continue to give to the countries of the region in the fight against the pandemic, especially through donations for vaccination.

“The EU will support vaccination plans for all partners in order to help keep vaccination levels similar to those of the EU by the end of 2021,” the document said.

In the EU, over 70 percent of the adult population is currently vaccinated, but there is a big difference between member states. While in Belgium vaccination has passed over 80 percent, in Bulgaria it has not yet reached even 30 percent.

The text of the EU-Western Balkans summit, which will take place in Slovenia, must be agreed by all EU member states, but also those of the Western Balkans, as it will be a joint statement.

Investigations on possible ties of two Serbs and Decan mass poisoning (Albanianpost)

It has been almost two months since the first reported cases of poisoning in the municipality of Decan. Over the course of five days at the time, over 1,500 citizens sought medical care at the emergency center in Decan.

The Basic Prosecution in Peja launched investigations after the Albanian Post had reported about the lack of security in the water supply system and two Serbs who were reported to the police as suspects behind the poisoning. 

The prosecution told the news website in an email response that investigations are ongoing. “The Basic Prosecution in Peja in coordination with Kosovo Police is conducting investigations about the situation in the municipality of Decan two months ago … We are also verifying the eventual ties of the two Serb nationals with the case,” the prosecution said.

Former Kosovo ambassador comments on Montenegro situation (Albanianpost)

Kosovo’s former ambassador to Montenegro and historian, Ylber Hysa, in an interview with the news website, commented on developments following the enthronement of the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. He argues that “this is the epilogue of a new political situation that started with the Law on Religious Freedoms, followed by a long demonstration by the Serbian Orthodox Church, which in the last elections supported a united pro-Serbian and civic political bloc and which managed to beat by one MP the party of President Gjukanovic”.

Hysa said that a similar event 30 years ago brought about the change of power in Montenegro. “Bishop Amfilohije was the magnet of this political bloc and after his death from the pandemic it opened the way to the election of the new bishop, Joanikije. Amfilohije was a bishop with a long history of the involvement of religion and politics in the bloody wars in the former Yugoslavia and in 1991 he was enthroned in the presence of the Yugoslav Army and with the support of Arkan, which was met with great opposition in Cetinje,” he said.

Hysa also said that Amfilohije “was not politically sided with Vucic” although he was a charismatic Orthodox exponent. “The election of Joanikije as his successor was not easy. He had to agree with many positions of the Belgrade Patriarchate which seemed to have also included giving up on privileges and autonomous prerogatives established by the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral,” he added.

Hysa said that Joanikije’s enthronement is coming as the last chapter of the annexation of this patriarchate as one of the patriarchates of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Hysa described another very important step that preceded this, and this was the signing of the Fundamental Agreement Act between the state of Montenegro and the Serbian Orthodox Church. “This was supposed to be some sort of a concordat, a final act, ensuring that the Serbian Orthodox Church was the only Orthodox church, one and unique with the Patriarchate in Belgrade, and that all church properties in Montenegro would come under it. This was supposed to be done by the new Montenegrin Prime Minister, Krivokapic, who entered political life as a protagonist chosen by the late bishop,” he said. 

It was precisely this act, Hysa explains, that would be “a triumphant annexing act after the downfall of Djukanovic’s power and the amendment of the Law on Religious Freedoms. But Krivokapic was afraid to assume this responsibility and he was largely criticised by the other Serbian-church bloc. In that atmosphere, Krivokapic felt threatened if he would not undertake the protection of Joanikije’s enthronement.”

Hysa further argued that Montenegrin sovereign forces viewed this enthronement of Joanikije as an open threat that was demonstratively sealing the policy of a Serbian World and an identity submission. “Moreover, Cetinje is a kind of ‘Kruja’ of Montenegro. For centuries, it was the seat of the Montenegrin dynasts that created their independent kingdom which also had its church which was later abolished after 1918 when Serbia annexed Montenegro with force and violence. Montenegro got back its independence after a long time, in 2006, and Cetinje forever remained a symbol of Montenegrin resistance and history. After independence was restored, there were efforts to establish the Montenegrin Orthodox Church which was seen by some as the final act of Montenegro’s independence and restored identity”. “Based on this aspect, the enthronement of the bishop of the Serbian Church was seen by the people of Cetinje and other Montenegrins as a public defamation act against their identity and they made it clear that they would not allow this to happen. The town’s assembly brought a unanimous decision against it and the Montenegrin President openly supported tens of thousands of people that had gathered in the protest”.

Despite a lengthy debate with notes of open confrontation and despite the opinion of the police chief, who Hysa said was sacked shortly before the action, the government authorities did not stop Joanikije’s enthronement. “After persistent protests by Montenegrins in Cetinje, Joanikije was brought by special police, amid shock bombs, teargas and military helicopters, to the historical monastery in Cetinje to perform the enthronement without any public and with the presence of the police phalanx,” Hysa said. “This caused a mass reaction by the Montenegrin side which saw this as an unprecedented act of a military operation against the will of the people of Cetinje, and which does not honor a man of God like President Djukanovic said.”

Hysa said the events have left a long-term mark on a society that is extremely polarized in two identity halves. “Although the political process in the country was already blocked because the majority was blocking itself in parliament (which is unprecedented in parliamentarism theories) by asking for some time the reconstruction of the government and for Krivokapic to be removed from the office of Prime Minister, it now seems that this political process has been stopped.”

“One cannot rule out a blockade where the opposition will hardly take part in parliamentary life and the political stalemate can further paralyse the political life. Now the ruling majority could try to move forward with a reconstructing package which also includes the census, the unilateral election of the Prosecutorial Council or continue the procedure for Djukanovic’s impeachment which has started just recently.”

Although the Quint embassies have called on parties to reduce tensions and resort to political dialogue, Hysa said that the events in Cetinje have inflicted a serious injury which may have long-term consequences. “It seems that the dice has been thrown and this will ultimately lead to a process with consequences toward the Serbian Orthodox Church and identity and political reflections not only in Cetinje,” he said.

Hysa also said that the involvement, not only restricted to statements, of Serbian state leaders such as Aleksandar Vucic and Aleksandar Vulin, and also Milorad Dodik, is more than a problem for Montenegro. “One has to see how this political and identity clash will continue in this NATO member state, and the impact that it can have on developments in the region too,” he said.

Berisha: Vucic’s war calls, a threat to our nation and Kosovo (Telegrafi)

Former Prime Minister of Albania, Sali Berisha, commented today on the recent developments in Montenegro and the Serbian priests singing “when the army returns to Kosovo” during the enthronement of the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. Berisha argued in a Facebook post that the Serbian Orthodox Church is a tool of blind Serbian nationalism and that following orders from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic they are blowing the horns for a new conflict in the Balkans. “They used yesterday’s ceremony of the enthronement of its leader in Montenegro to call for the deployment of the Serbian army to Kosovo and for creating a new conflict in the Balkans,” Berisha said. According to him, the war chants are clear proof of Aleksandar Vucic’s policy and his use of all means to implement the project of a Greater Serbia.

Serbian Language Media

Covid-19 in Serbian communities: 33 new cases, two deaths (KoSSev)

Out of a total of 104 tested samples in Serbian communities in Kosovo, according to the latest data, 33 people were registered infected with coronavirus and two people died as a result of the virus, the Crisis Staff of the Municipality of Kosovska Mitrovica announced.

The new patients by municipalities: North Mitrovica – 6, Leposavic – 6, Strpce – 5, Zubin Potok, Zvecan and Gnjilane 4 each, Kosovska Kamenica – 2, Gracanica – 1 and Pec – 1.

27 people came out of isolation.

The number of active cases is currently 205.

Gracanica: Six more people infected 

In the area of the municipality of Gracanica, six more people were infected with the coronavirus, the Crisis Staff announced today, reported KiM radio.

Stano: Chief negotiators of Belgrade and Pristina on September 7th and 8th in Brussels (Tanjug, RTS)

European Union spokesman Peter Stano stated that the next meeting of the main negotiators within the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will be held on September 7 and 8 in Brussels, RTS reported citing agency Tanjug. 

Stano confirmed this for Tanjug and added that two days of the technical talks will be dedicated to “currently open issues and next steps in dialogue”.

The main negotiators of Belgrade and Pristina, Petar Petkovic and Besnik Bislimi, were supposed to meet at the end of August, but due to the illness of the representatives of Pristina, that round of technical talks was postponed, reported RTS.

EU Special Representative for Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak later scheduled a new date for talks in early September.

On Tuesday, the first day of talks in Brussels, both delegations are scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Lajcak and EU mediators

On the second day, Wednesday, a trilateral of Belgrade, Pristina and EU mediators is planned.

The EU spokesman reiterated that the EU expects that all agreements reached within the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, including the agreement on official visits, will be respected.

He said that in connection with last week’s refusal of Pristina to allow the entry of the director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, on the territory of Kosovo.

“We call on the parties to promote, through dialogue, an atmosphere that leads to reconciliation, regional stability and cooperation, and which is for the benefit of the citizens,” Stano said

Brussels reiterates that Belgrade and Pristina have agreed on clear modalities for conducting official visits and emphasizes that the agreement must not be politicized.

“Visits by both sides must be conducted in a way that contributes to the process of normalization of relations and supports the overall work within the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina,” Stano said.

Serbia aspires to EU, but it will not spoil relations with Russia and China, says Vucic (media)

President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic pointed out, in an interview with the Austrian state television ORF, that Serbia wants to become an EU member, Serbian media cited.

He added that Serbia would not spoil relations with Russia and China because of that. Asked about Serbia’s European path, Vucic said that he knew that not everything depended on us.

“At the recent meeting of foreign ministers, it was stated that Serbia has made progress on the issue of the rule of law. It is important for us to be sincerely on the European path,” he said.

ORF pointed out that environmental protests are being held in Serbia, that some citizens oppose Rio Tinto and that the landfill in Vinca was on fire, and the President of Serbia pointed out that within the “2025 Program” there are a number of projects in this area.

He stated that more than 120 municipalities will be connected to the sewage system. “It may be unthinkable for Austria, but even one third of Belgrade does not have sewerage. We will install wastewater treatment plants in all cities, and we will remove asbestos pipes in the water supply system. We will do all that, but I will not participate in the deindustrialization of Serbia,” he said.

When it comes to vaccination, ORF states that Serbia was the first in terms of vaccine availability, but that it has been facing opposition to vaccination for months.

“It is obviously a universal problem, not just a problem of one country. Why this is so, I do not understand. But conspiracy theories and negative messages are obviously better than positive ones. Social networks are the main cause for that, along with the fact that people perceive their freedoms in having the right to behave frivolously,” concluded the President of Serbia.

Who are the candidates for mayors in municipalities with a Serb majority (KiM radio, KoSSev)

The Kosovo CEC published a list of candidates for mayors and municipal assembly councilors for the upcoming local elections, scheduled for October 17th. Out of a total of 35 candidates for mayors in 11 municipalities in Kosovo with a majority Serb population – 19 are Serbs, three of whom are women. Out of 167 candidates for 38 municipalities in Kosovo, only 13 are female candidates, reported KiM radio portal.

North Mitrovica has two candidates: the current mayor and former Kosovo Deputy Interior Minister, Milan Radojevic (Serbian List) and Erden Atiq (CI “Mitrovica”).

The candidacy was rejected to Aleksandar Arsenijevic from the newly established CI “Serbian Survival”.

There are two candidates in Zvecan – independent, Sladjana Pantovic and former long-term president of this municipality on behalf of the Democratic Party of Serbia, and then a candidate for mayor in the campaign in the fall of 2017 – Dragisa Milovic, who is now a candidate on behalf of the Serbian List.

In Leposavic, two candidates are officially in the race: current mayor Zoran Todic (Serbian List) and Shaqir Hetemi (PDK).

Zubin Potok has three candidates: longtime mayor Srdjan Vulovic (Serbian List), Slavisa Bisevac (CI “Zubin Potok”), who also ran for the previous elections, and Qerkin Veseli (PDK).

South of the Ibar, Ljiljana Subaric (Serbian List) and independent candidate Branimir Stojanovic are running in Gracanica.

Subaric, presented as a professor at the Faculty of Medicine, is a politically anonymous person to the public. Stojanovic is one of the founders of the Serbian List.

In Strpce, the candidacy was confirmed for four. Former Kosovo Minister for Communities and Returns, Dalibor Jevtic (Serbian List), Slavisa Vasiljevic (CI “Freedom Strpce”) and two candidates in front of Albanian parties will compete.

There are also four candidates in Novo Brdo, and one of them is Sasa Milosevic (Serbian List). The rest are from LDK, PDK and LVV.

Klokot has three candidates for mayor: Vladan Bogdanovic (Serbian List), Sasa Mirkovic (CI “National unity”) and Strahinja Spasic (CI “Serbian national unity”).

Partes also has three candidates: Jugoslav Jovanovic (Serbian List), Dragan Petkovic (Serbian list) and Nenad Cvetkovic (CI “National unity”).

Ranilug has one candidate, Katarina Ristic Ilic (Serbian List). KoSSev unofficially learns that she was not widely known by the locals, especially not in politics.

The municipality of Obilic has seven candidates, among whom is Goran Dancetovic (Serbian List). Other candidates are from LVV, PDK, LDK, AAK and two other CIs.

The list is not final, because neither the order nor the accuracy has been confirmed – mistakes in some technical details are possible, the CEC announced.

Vucic: Kosovo has a favorable position for Council of Europe membership (N1, FoNet, TV Prva)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday that the authorities in Pristina have an extremely favorable position in the Council of Europe to request Kosovo’s membership in that organization, after which they will try to join Interpol and UNESCO.

“We will beat them there, but it will be very difficult in the Council of Europe,” Vucic said for TV Prva.

He added that the first official candidacy of Pristina will be “in the days ahead, which will open access to Serbia and show that Belgrade, as he said, is not sitting idly by’’.

He said that he knew when German Chancellor Angela Merkel was coming to Serbia, that it would be soon, but that the agreement was not to disclose the exact date to the public.

Vucic also said that the presidential, parliamentary and elections for councilors in the Assembly of the City of Belgrade will be held on April 3 or 17 next year and that he still does not know whether he will run for President again.

See at: https://bit.ly/3zNCEn1

Petkovic and Jenca on the political situation in Kosovo, dialogue, and missing persons (KiM radio)

Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Petar Petkovic briefed the UN Assistant Secretary General for Europe Miroslav Jenca about the current political situation in Kosovo and Metohija, the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and the difficult situation of the Serbian people in Kosovo, especially pointing to the fact that attacks on the Serbian people, property and cultural and religious heritage are almost daily, reported on Friday KiM radio, citing the office statement. 

The director of the Office for KiM reminded of the recent attack on a thirteen-year-old boy Nikola Peric from Gojbulja and the misfortunes faced by Dragica Gasic, the only Serb returnee in Djakovica, but also of more than ninety incidents targeting the Serb population in Kosovo, since the beginning of the year. 

Petkovic also stated that Pristina, ”with the decision to prevent him from visiting Serbs in the province for the third time this year and deliver help, continues with the continuous practice of illegally banning officials from Belgrade from entering the province, which is the most flagrant violation of the Brussels agreement, which regulates the freedom of movement,” read the statement. 

“Violation of the Brussels Agreement in the part related to justice and protection of basic human rights of our compatriots in Kosovo and Metohija, this time by denying the right to freedom of opinion and speech, which Pristina demonstrated with the recently passed final verdict for Ivan Todosijevic, the president of the municipality of Zvecan,  due to statements about Racak,  who was sentenced to two years in prison,” Petkovic stated.

As for the issue of missing persons in Kosovo, Petkovic pointed out that in this area, too, there was only a rhetorical commitment of Pristina to solve the problem.

“Belgrade has so far responded to all requests and searched 22 locations, Petkovic emphasized, warning that on the other hand, Pristina’s minimum civilizational readiness to do the same is persistently missing,” Petkovic added.

Pointing out the seriousness of the situation in the province, Petar Petkovic expressed fear that the upcoming local elections and the campaign of Albanian politicians will cause new incidents and pressures, which will further endanger the security and safety of our people.

“All this is happening before the continuation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina next week in Brussels, which once again confirms that Pristina is doing everything to jeopardize the continuation of the dialogue and lead to destabilization of the situation on the ground,” Petkovic pointed out.

Regardless of that, Belgrade will remain committed to dialogue and normalization of relations, but it will continue to resolutely demand from Pristina at every opportunity the implementation of all agreements reached so far, primarily the establishment of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, Petkovic said

During the meeting, Petkovic thanked for the cooperation and stressed the importance of the UN’s role in protecting the position and rights of the Serb people in Kosovo, expressing the expectation that UNMIK would continue to operate on the ground in non-reduced capacity and status neutral, insisting on Security Council Resolution 1244, the statement of the Office for KiM added, KiM radio cited.

Russian daily: Vucic opts for regional anxiety to divert attention from Serbia (N1, Beta)

The enthronement of Metropolitan Joanikije, the Bishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Montenegrin-Littoral, in the Cetinje Monastery led to serious political destabilisation of Montenegro, the Moscow daily Kommersant wrote on Monday.

The protest, in which thousands of people took part, was suppressed by the police. At the same time, Metropolitan Joanikije and SPC Patriarch Porfirije were flown into the monastery by military helicopter, the paper said in an article entitled ‘Montenegrin landing enthronement’.

Experts believed that Montenegro was entering a period of destabilisation, which could have been avoided if the enthronement had not been held in the Cetinje, former Montenegrin royal capital, but in any other temple.

The daily said that such a decision could have been made by the SPC or Montenegro’s Government, which could have banned any events in Cetinje.

The paper added that both the SPC, the Montenegrin prime minister, and the deputy prime minister were against moving the ceremony and banning the protest.

Many experts see the reason in the strong influence of Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic over both the current Government of Montenegro and the SPC because he may be interested in the instability of neighbours to distract the attention from the problems at home, Kommersant said.

The paper quotes historian and political scientist Milivoje Beslin as saying that there is a well-founded belief that Serbia’s President makes all decisions related to the Cetinje crisis.

Kommersant also cites a Montenegrin political scientist Zlatko Vujovic, who believes that “insisting on something that could lead to a conflict is primarily a political move by the SPC and linked to Vucic – to destabilise the region, which is what is happening”.

A severe schism among Orthodox believers speaks of the danger of troubles in Montenegro, the paper reports, citing the results of the University of Podgorica professor Olivera Komar, whose research shows the majority of Orthodox believers support SPC (43 percent). Still, the church does not have a “spiritual monopoly“.

The paper says that 21 percent of Orthodox believers support the unrecognised Montenegrin Orthodox Church, while 35 percent would not choose between them and want a single Orthodox Church.

International 

Montenegro opposition accused of ‘coup attempt’ over Cetinje riots (BIRN)

Government officials have accused the main opposition party of attempting a coup during the weekend’s violent protests against the enthronement of a new Serbian Orthodox Church leader in the country.

Montenegrin officials have accused the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, of launching a coup attempt during violent protests at the weekend against the enthronement of a new Serbian Orthodox Church leader, claiming that some of the protesters were armed.

On Sunday, violence erupted in Cetinje, the old capital of Montenegro, after opposition supporters and self-declared patriotic groups clashed with police trying to stop the enthronement of a new Serbian Orthodox Church Metropolitan, Joanikije, in Cetinje.

Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic on Sunday claimed that former government and police officials incited the protests in order to destabilize and even destroy the country.

The DPS “initiators  … were … in favour of a scenario that was supposed to have fatal consequences. It was an attempt to introduce Montenegro into permanent destabilization with elements of dissolution”, Abazovic told local television station Vijesti.

During the clashes in Cetinje on Sunday, police used tear gas, and several protesters and police officials were injured.

Police earlier broke down roadblocks erected near Cetinje, designed to stop clerics from reaching the town for the ceremony, while the Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije and the new Metropolitan of Montenegro were 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.

Read full story here: https://bit.ly/3l19pa2