Albanians are stunned by the scale of anti-European protests in Montenegro
Mass protest prayers and religious processions of Orthodox Christians in Montenegro are organized by those who do not want European integration of Montenegro and good relations with the United States.
Nik Djeljosaj, the mayor of Tuzi, a suburb of the Montenegrin capital Podgorica populated predominantly by Albanians, and the leader of the Albanian Alternative party, announced this to the press, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"The events surrounding the reaction of several MPs to the adoption of the law (On Freedom of Religion – ed.) and the organization of protests are an attempt to return Montenegro to its pre-2006 state (before its separation from Serbia – ed. )," the Albanian politician stated. "This is also a repeat of 1997 (when Montenegrin presidential elections took place, in which pro-Yugoslav unity advocate Momir Bulatović was defeated by pro-Western separatist Milo Đukanović – ed. ), when we saw a confrontation between pro-European and anti-European forces."
According to Jelloshay, twenty-three years later, “almost the same people are gathering to protest in defense of anti-European policies as in 1997.” And the goal of these “evil people” is to stop Montenegro on the path of integration into the EU and the establishment of friendly relations with “the most important partner - the United States.”
Mayor Tuzi also tried to reassure the children of the Serbian Orthodox Church with a rather dubious thesis that “national minorities will be a guarantee that the state of Montenegro, created by all its citizens ... will preserve the acquired interethnic and interreligious harmony.”
“Minorities will be the first to defend all holy places: churches, monasteries, mosques, and will not support their removal from any community,” said Nik Dzheloshaj. “Minorities would never support a law that promotes the confiscation of religious property. Minorities will never support a government that threatens the religious freedom of any religion in Montenegro."
At the same time, according to the head of the Albanian Alternative, the anti-church law adopted by the Montenegrin regime only establishes the state’s responsibility for religious sites and cultural values.
“De facto, not a single religious site is the property of a religious organization; it is the property of citizens and believers who built them with their donations or as taxpayers. In the end, all state property in Montenegro is the property of the citizens of Montenegro, and not the government and the municipality,” the politician added.
Toozi. 2016 A rally of local Albanians who, under the flags of Albania and the United States, demand broad autonomy.
Albanians are stunned by the scale of anti-European protests in Montenegro.