
The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovic, confirmed on Wednesday that the Basic Agreement between Montenegro and the Serbian Orthodox Church has been signed, which provides for the regulation of relations between Montenegro and the Belgrade-based Serbian Orthodox Church.
Without prior warning and without the presence of journalists, the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije Perič, arrived in Podgorica this morning. The State Villa Gorica, where the Basic Agreement was signed, is under strict security measures by the police.
The Government of Montenegro approved the Basic Agreement on July 8. The Basic Agreement on the relations between the state of Montenegro and the Serbian Orthodox Church mainly contains the obligations of the state and institutions towards this religious community.
The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro is granted the extraterritoriality of religious objects, the possibility of religious education in public schools is opened, its subjectivity is recognized for six centuries longer than the Serbian Orthodox Church has in Serbia, it is given public-juridical powers and in in some areas, it provides equal legal status with state institutions.
The agreement has prompted the opposition party Democratic Front - which supports the signing of the agreement - to also demand Abazovic's resignation. But the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovic, has said that he will not resign./REL