Every soldier is obliged to be loyal to Montenegro and protect its integrity and sovereignty. Nobody forbids soldiers to believe in something, but taking part in protests which are obviously political and which feature flags of some other country is not acceptable, said brigadier general, Mr Dragutin Dakić, head of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Montenegro when asked if members of the Army were forbidden to take part in religious processions.
Večernje novosti portal published information that members of the Armed Forces of Montenegro should dissuade members of their families from attending protest against Law on Freedom of Religion.
“Soldiers who take part in religious processions will face disciplinary procedure”, Novosti writes.
“I informed soldiers about the current situation. With the aim of countering spreading misinformation I would like to point at several principles the Code of Military Ethics stipulates. All members of the Armed Forces of Montenegro are obliged to act in accordance with the Code”, Mr Dakić says.
He stresses that whoever is part of the Army is obliged to abide by ethical principles.
According to him, Code stipulates that a person in military service shall not attend the event promoting animosity towards other persons or discrimination.
Mr Dakić clearly expressed his view regarding current protests caused by the Law on Freedom of Religion.
“What Novosti portal reports is just the continuation of the aggressive misinformation campaign against Montenegro, which is supported by radical elements of political and religious stage of Montenegro. Every soldier, starting from myself, is obliged to be unconditionally loyal to Montenegro and protect its integrity and sovereignty. Whoever thinks to defend church from the law, does not belong to the Armed Forces”, Mr Dakić said.
He points out that soldiers are not forbidden to believe.
Montenegro is a country that has left political rhetoric of the 1990s far behind.