Montenegrin Parliament Again Passes Amendments On Church Property After Presidential Veto
January 20, 2021 20:16 GMT
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PODGORICA Montenegro s parliament has approved changes to a controversial law on religion that has dominated politics in the Balkan country for more than a year.
The amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion were backed by 41 deputies in the 81-seat legislature in a January 20 vote that was boycotted by the opposition.
The amendments repeal provisions that have been contested by the Serbian Orthodox Church, its supporters, and pro-Serbian parties.
Thousands of people have protested against amending the law, calling it treason.
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Lawmakers In Montenegro Back Changes To Contentious Religion Law Amid Protests
December 29, 2020 08:57 GMT
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December 29, 2020 11:04 GMT
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PODGORICA, Montenegro Montenegro s parliament has approved changes to a controversial law on religion that had been sharply criticized by ethnic Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church.
A total of 41 deputies of the ruling coalition, comprised of pro-Serb parties and closely aligned with the Serbian Orthodox Church, in the 81-seat legislature backed amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion in a vote early on December 29 that was boycotted by the opposition.
On December 28, several thousand people protested outside the parliament building in the capital, Podgorica, against the new government’s proposed changes, waving Montenegrin flags and chanting slogans such as “Treason” and “This Is Not Serbia.” No clashes were reported.
Thousands Of Montenegrins Protest Government Plan To Amend Controversial Religion Law
December 28, 2020 20:56 GMT
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PODGORICA, Montenegro Several thousand people in Montenegro have protested the new government’s plan to amend a controversial law on religion.
Protesters chanted “Treason” and “This Is Not Serbia” as they gathered on December 28 outside the parliament building in the capital Podgorica, where lawmakers planned to discuss the proposed changes.
Under Montenegro s new religion law, adopted in January, religious communities must prove property ownership from before 1918.
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That is the year when predominantly Orthodox Christian Montenegro joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes and the Montenegrin Orthodox Church was subsumed by the Serbian Orthodox Church, losing all of its property in the process.