Montenegro: Muslims threatened with genocide
14:35, 03/09/2020, ThursdayU: Update: 14:37, 03/09/2020, Thursday
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Provocations against Muslims on rise as election results favor Pro-Russian opposition alliance
Muslims living in Montenegro were threatened with genocide after the Sunday general election results showed the country's future policy leaning more towards Russia and Serbia.
Elections resulted in the long-governing Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) winning majority of the votes. But it lost majority in the National Assembly to the opposition For the Future of Montenegro alliance, led by the Democratic Front (DF), leaning more towards Russia and Serbia.
The DF is known for its anti-NATO stance and closeness to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).
Those who gathered around the churches sang Serbian nationalist songs before taking some provocative actions against the Muslim population in the region from the night of the elections throughout the week.
Some people have targeted the Islamic Union building in the northern part of Montenegro Pljevlja town. While the windows of the building were smashed by unknown people, threatening statements were made against the Muslim in the city on a piece of paper thrown inside.
On the paper, it was written that Pljevlja would be like Srebrenica, where more than 8,000 Bosniak civilians were killed by Serbs in 1995 during the Bosnian War.
The chief imam of Pljevlja, Samir Kadribasic, told Anadolu Agency that Muslims in the region no longer feel safe because of these attacks. "This attack is too much now. I don't know where things will go, but I am afraid that there will be chaos with the reaction of the other side," said Kadribasic.
These actions reminded people of bloody war scenes of the 1990s in the region.
Following the victory of the opposition wing, some separatist Serb politicians in the region shared congratulatory messages. Celebrations in the Serbian regions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the waving of banners belonging to the Chetnik movement, which had done countless massacres in the region in the past, also pointed to the seriousness of the situation.
Many have chanted fascist slogans and written some of them on the walls since the election day.
The northern city of Pljevlja in Montenegro saw slogans such as "Turks, go from here", "Who will drink Turkish blood first," and "Every place and everybody should become Serbian".
Elections resulted in the long-governing Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) winning majority of the votes. But it lost majority in the National Assembly to the opposition For the Future of Montenegro alliance, led by the Democratic Front (DF), leaning more towards Russia and Serbia.
The DF is known for its anti-NATO stance and closeness to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).
Those who gathered around the churches sang Serbian nationalist songs before taking some provocative actions against the Muslim population in the region from the night of the elections throughout the week.
Some people have targeted the Islamic Union building in the northern part of Montenegro Pljevlja town. While the windows of the building were smashed by unknown people, threatening statements were made against the Muslim in the city on a piece of paper thrown inside.
On the paper, it was written that Pljevlja would be like Srebrenica, where more than 8,000 Bosniak civilians were killed by Serbs in 1995 during the Bosnian War.
The chief imam of Pljevlja, Samir Kadribasic, told Anadolu Agency that Muslims in the region no longer feel safe because of these attacks. "This attack is too much now. I don't know where things will go, but I am afraid that there will be chaos with the reaction of the other side," said Kadribasic.
These actions reminded people of bloody war scenes of the 1990s in the region.
Following the victory of the opposition wing, some separatist Serb politicians in the region shared congratulatory messages. Celebrations in the Serbian regions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the waving of banners belonging to the Chetnik movement, which had done countless massacres in the region in the past, also pointed to the seriousness of the situation.
Many have chanted fascist slogans and written some of them on the walls since the election day.
The northern city of Pljevlja in Montenegro saw slogans such as "Turks, go from here", "Who will drink Turkish blood first," and "Every place and everybody should become Serbian".