You are reading a daily contextual review of the news that marked the previous weekend.
By Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM observer
Despite many obstructions, the protest in Cetinje succeeded. According to the first unofficial police estimates received by journalists in Cetinje, there were 12,500 people yesterday. The police also adjusted the numbers a bit, so it was later officially said that there were only 4,000 people at the protest. And this is a lot considering the obstructions that were happening. A part of the pro-government and church media acted as propaganda and characterized the protests as protests against the rights of a minority community, although they paradoxically claim that it is the largest religious community in Montenegro. In order to distance liberal voices from the idea of protests, they compared them to protests against Pride. Professor Olivera Komar said in her reaction on Twitter everything about why this is absurd and perfidious.
Two days before the gathering, the authorities finally admitted that they did not control the pandemic, so they introduced some measures. Although these measures still allow infected people to enter our country, it is important to limit public gatherings. This obviously does not apply to beaches and gatherings of the governorship of the Church of Serbia in Montenegro.
The night before the gathering, typical misinformation about the planned violence began, advising that people should stay away from Cetinje. Then, the media problematized a standard statement of the American embassy about demonstrations, which is literally published whenever mass protests are planned. From the “Resist” protests which, by the way, the organizers sold for their good positions, through religious processions to the election celebration last year, the embassy always issues a warning/notice to its citizens. After that, the announcement of the Patriotic-Komitas Alliance (PKS) was falsified, in which Muslims and Catholics were invited to stay at home, because an Orthodox gathering was taking place in Cetinje. The PKS reacted immediately with a statement.
After burning banners, selective arrests of those who put them up, relentless campaigns in local and Serbian tabloids and on TV, work of public and secret police in the field, whose certain associates changed their loyalty, everything was tried to reduce the response of people at the rally. However, it all failed. The gathering was majestic, massive and emotional. Without any incident, if we exclude the obstruction of Vijesti TV in performing its task, which was ugly, but at no time violent and rude. Based on the footage, we do not see that anyone was insulted or threatened, nor did any of the journalists claim this, as far as I know. That did not bother the Prime Minister to start spreading panic again by telling how the security of Vijesti journalists was endangered.
What is most important, however, is that a message was sent from the protest that people are united in the protest against the discriminatory and aggressive behavior of the Serbian Church in Montenegro and that they will not accept the fact that Montenegrin Orthodox people are discriminated against. Joanikije II, the Metropolitan of the Church of Serbia in Montenegro, also addressed the public to manipulate, so I would not refer to that.
Messages, banners and flags, from the flag of the former Yugoslavia, through SUBNOR, Britain, Slovenia, America, to the LGBT rainbow flag show the solidarity of all social groups with the Montenegrin Orthodox community and give a picture of Montenegrin society as it should look like in the future – united in all the differences.
At this link and at this link you can look at photos and videos to see how it was at the protest.
That’s it for today, see you again tomorrow with regular topics.
