The police force in the small Adriatic country of Montenegro this week reversed a previous decision whereby its forces would not provide security during peaceful rallies and prayers services against a recently passed law in the country, which drastically affects religious institutions.
In an abrupt about-face after intense reactions, police leadership said the force will continue to dispatch officers to accompany and protect peaceful protestors.
The Orthodox Church in Montenegro is bitterly opposed to the new law, which was drafted and ratified by the current government. The law maintains that religious institutions must present proof of ownership and titles for properties and relics they retained prior to 1914, otherwise the state can confiscate the latter.
Church hierarchs and the faithful have repeatedly charged that the law is mainly aimed at harming and insulting the Serbian Orthodox Church.