AP reports from Podgorica that Montenegro’s parliament adopted a contested law on religious rights early Friday after chaotic scenes in the assembly that resulted in the detention of all pro-Serb opposition lawmakers.
The vote followed a day of nationwide protests by supporters of the Serbian Orthodox Church who claim that the law will strip the church of its property, including medieval monasteries and churches. The government has denied that.
Trying to prevent the vote, the pro-Serb lawmakers hurled what appeared to be a tear gas canister, or a firecracker, and attempted to destroy microphones in the parliament hall. Plainclothes police wearing gas masks intervened, detaining 24 people, including 18 opposition lawmakers.
The law, approved by 45 ruling coalition lawmakers, says religious communities would need to produce evidence of ownership of their property from prior to 1918, when Montenegro joined a Serb-led Balkan kingdom and lost its independence.
Read the full report at thenationalherald.com
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