JOKIĆ: OSTROG IS ABOVE ALL WORLDLY BENEFITS

PODGORICA, AUGUST 17 /SRNA/ - United Montenegro MP Danilo Jokić opposed plans to install a solar power plant near Ostrog Monastery, saying that the shrine of Saint Basil of Ostrog is a place of immense energy and great divine grace.

Jokić noted that Ostrog and the Ostrog cliffs are among Montenegro's most recognizable landmarks and added that it would be a grave and unforgivable mistake to install fields of solar panels below or next to the shrine of Saint Basil. "Ostrog itself is a place of immense energy. A place of great God's love, forgiveness, prayers for oneself and others, a spiritual sanctuary, a source of comfort, and a triumph of meaning and hope must remain untouched," Jokić stressed. He stressed that the term "green energy" must not be allowed to become an excuse to disregard the area, its importance, setting, landscape, cultural heritage and the interests of the local population. "We are not against development, but we are against bad or, at the very least, insufficiently studied projects. We are in favour of investment, but certainly not investment that could in any way damage invaluable assets," Jokić said. According to him, Ostrog is not merely a monastery, but a spiritual entity that must not be encroached upon by any large-scale project. "Ostrog is one of a kind, and we have more than enough hills and barren land suitable for solar panels and power plants," Jokić concluded. Montenegrin media report that the public is being prepared these days for a project to build a solar power plant at Bogetići, below Povija near Ostrog Monastery, "under the guise of the public interest," prompting a reaction from Jokić.