Montenegrin police have used special means against protesters who are blocking the entrance to the old capital of Cetinje, national television reports.
“The police intervened and tried to divide the mass of citizens into groups, several times used tear gas and stun grenades. Interior Ministry officers order people to disperse,” the radio and television of Montenegro reports.
The UN office in Montenegro said on Friday that it is concerned about the exacerbation of the situation in the country due to the enthronement of the Metropolitan of the SOC Ioannikius and the visit of the Serbian Patriarch Porfiry. The intercession at the Monastery of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Cetinje, scheduled for September 5, earlier caused discontent among the nationalist circles of Montenegro. Members of the movement, calling themselves “komits”, broke through police cordons on Saturday and blocked the entrances to Cetinje from Podgorica and Budva to prevent the patriarch and clergy from entering.
The solemn meeting of Patriarch Porfiry took place on Saturday evening in front of the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Podgorica. The head of the SOC called the participants in the violent protests dear brothers and urged them to love and harmony. However, the protesters stayed at night on the barricades in Cetinje.
The beginning of the enthronement ceremony in the Cetinsky Monastery was previously scheduled for 08:00 (09:00 Moscow time).
Prime Minister of Montenegro Zdravko Krivokapic, who was also present at the meeting of the Patriarch, on the eve in a special appeal urged citizens not to succumb to provocations of “political and criminal structures” during enthronement. The Montenegrin National Security Council, led by the prime minister, issued instructions to the intelligence and security agencies on Friday “with the aim of strengthening coordination in order to maintain constitutional order and protect the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens.”