Riot broke out in Montenegro’s parliament after speaker Ivan Brijovic refused to postpone voting on the controversial draft law on religious associations, which deputies had been considering all day.
The Assembly of Montenegro on Thursday considered a law on freedom of religion and belief and the legal status of religious communities. The bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro called on believers to hold on with dignity, not to give in to provocations and not to participate in street riots and conflicts. At the initiative of the opposition Democratic Front, Prime Minister Dusko Markovic met with Metropolitan Amfilohije.
Deputies of the Democratic Front (DF) proposed over 150 amendments to the bill. They were considered by the Human Rights Committee and the Assembly Legislative Committee, reducing the number of amendments to about 100. After the resumption of the plenary session, one of the AF leaders, Andrija Mandic, proposed to postpone the approval of the amendments and the vote because of the late date, but the speaker refused.
“At the very beginning of the meeting, we said that today we would conclude this discussion and vote. We had a thorough discussion and took as much time as possible – we talked about the bill for six hours and more”, – said Brijovic. The broadcast was conducted by the press service of the election.
Outraged by the refusal to postpone the meeting, the DF members began to make noise on the spot, then went to the presidium, where they engaged in a scuffle with representatives of the parliamentary majority. The session was interrupted, there was shoving and insults in the hall.