We recently witnessed a well-organized attempt aimed to force Montenegro to withdraw the religious freedom law. Paramilitary units from Serbia and Republika Srpska were about to enter MNE. It is likely that Montenegro’s NATO membership represented the main obstacle for them, President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia Ms Sonja Biserko told Pobjeda daily.
Commenting on the adoption of the Law on Religious Communities and the mayhem that followed, she said: “It turns out that the Serbian political stage condemns Montenegro for the law. Some believe that Montenegro is a Serbian country, while some believe that Đukanović should not interfere in religious matters and should build a civil state. This is a rather cynical stance considering that Serbia is the least civilian state. “
She continued: “No matter that this battle has been won, new provocations, such as the creation of the SAO Krajina, should be expected. It is a repeated déjà vu scenario. Unfortunately, Serbia has once again shown that it is not ready to commit to itself and create balance that would position it in a new way in the region.”
When asked to comment on the pressure that the Serbian Orthodox Church, SPC, is imposing on the Montenegrin opposition which earlier announced the boycott of the new law on religion, Ms Biserko noted: “This has been the latest of all the pressures on the Government of Montenegro to withdraw the religious freedom law, which, in fact, represents the last phase of determining the Montenegrin identity. Metropolitan Amfilohije even claimed that a civil war might erupt in case the law was passed. As the SPC is the only cross-border institution, it has a special role in this campaign, especially because it is a property generating large revenues. That aspect of the problem is also important.”
On Serbia’s position towards MNE in this specific situation, she said: “Serbia’s position towards Montenegro is more or less unique, that is, it claims that Montenegrins do not exist and that Montenegro is a Serbian country. Montenegro is denied on many levels – through language, church, ethnic origin.”
