Author: Ivana Jelača
WAR MONGERING AND RACE BAITING
August 26, 2022
SERBIAN TABLOIDS PROCLAIM WAR (ALMOST 300 TIMES A YEAR)
In September 2020, the Guardian editorial board had GPT-3, artificial intelligence (AI) language software, draft an essay about how robots “come in peace” and that humans have no reason to fear them. The result was incredibly successful; GPT-3 delivered a roughly 1,000 word text that put forward some good arguments.
If an AI program were to be trained for a journalism job in Serbian, an optimal assignment would be set up differently. Instead of robots coming in peace, the software should write a text about Albanians who come to make war. There are several reasons why this, in a technical sense, would be an ideal assignment.
First, a large corpus of pieces on the matter has been building for years, so the software could extract the existing elements and combine them and retell the story. Second, the lexical range of such pieces is very narrow. The software would not need to struggle with a large number of words; common phrases, figures of speech and insults would suffice. Third, and perhaps most importantly, these media pieces are very predictable and follow a template, structured like a fairy tale. An algorithm would be able to recognize and learn the ropes of this mechanism very easily, and then independently produce front-page pieces for Serbian tabloids like Informer, Alo, Srpski Telegraf and others.
If we look at how Serbian tabloids reported on the crisis in the north of Kosovo on July 31, we’ll see this sort of thing. It’s a long-running approach to reporting: a study from 2016-2017 found that Informer and Srpski Telegraf’s front pages announced the outbreak of a total of 265 wars in a single year. In other words, five announcements of war per week with a symbolic “weekend” bringing respite from “nuclear strikes,” “terrorist attacks,” “Greater Albanian aggression,” “total assaults,” “head-on clashes,” “bloody massacres,” and so on.
How does all this affect the audience? We can think about it in two opposing ways. The first is that, owing to the long-term exposure to threats that fail to be carried out, big words are beginning to lose power, so readers become anesthetized and read about upcoming invented wars as they do about an earthquake in East Timor. At the same time, we may have a public readership that is turning militant, scared, a public that is living in constant alarm about armed conflicts.
Since Albin Kurti came into power, tabloid articles about new conflicts breaking out in Kosovo have intensified. In February 2020, an Informer headline read: “Madness in Prishtina: Kurti is preparing for war.” The corresponding article claimed that “the newly elected president of the government of the fake state Kosovo is openly preparing for a war with Serbs and Serbia.” The most widely circulated Serbian newspaper spoke in this way in reference to Kurti’s inaugural address, where he in no way, shape or form announced a war, neither with Serbs, nor with Serbia or with any other country.
On October 15, 2021, several media outlets reported that “Kurti is preparing a new attack.” When? “As early as tomorrow.” No attack took place, but a new announcement came less than two weeks later when Kurir and Alo reported that “Kurti is preparing new bloodshed” scheduled for November 6. November too passed without an armed conflict, so the war was “postponed” for the holiday season. Instead of good wishes, Alo informed its readers that “Kurti is preparing a new attack on Serbs for New Year’s.” Kosovo Serbs welcomed the New Year in peace, but one with a limited duration because, as Srpski Telegraf reported, “Kurti is preparing a bloody Christmas for Serbs.”
One of the narrative devices these stories rely on is sudden claims of victorious conversion and treasonous betrayal. Thus you get things like Informer’s owner renting out a billboard to put up the message “Trump, you Serb,” followed by the newspaper’s reassurances that Donald Trump would return Kosovo to Serbia. But shortly after, when Trump met with Kadri Veseli, the former U.S. President abruptly changed national identities on Informer’s front page: “Trump is a Šiptar!” In a similar manner, in early August local tabloids celebrated “Serbia’s diplomatic victory.” Supposedly the U.S. and Albania took Serbia’s side (Alo: “Vučić turned the U.S. against the Šiptars,” and Kurir: “Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama had clear message for Prishtina — Open Balkan or war”).
Tabloid pieces are characterized by an absence of any truthful analysis. There is no cause or effect, background or insight; everything boils down to emotions, primarily anger and fear. In such pieces, the insulting slur “Šiptar” is no longer only for Albanians, it becomes a universal label for anyone working “against Serb interests.” So besides Donald Trump, leaders of EU countries, activists or journalists from Serbia and opposition politicians all get labeled as “Šiptars.”
THE INFORMER FRONT PAGE ON AUGUST 3 READ: “OBJECTIVE OF THE WEST: KILL VUČIĆ IN KOSOVO.”
When working out the angle of a story, first the stance of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is determined. And that stance — regardless of whether it’s offensive or defensive, right-leaning or left — is presented as the saving grace, protective, deliberate and wise. Once oriented thusly, the rest of the story is crafted so that narrative, factual and stylistic context aligns with the pattern set by the president.
But that doesn’t mean that the media discourse stays where Vučić sets it. On the contrary, tabloid discourse is always more intense, heated and explicit. Within this system of information circulation, every story is heard twice: first in press conferences held in the presidency and later in media, where it is retold and enhanced. The experience of reading about crises in Kosovo has taught us that it’s only a matter of time before a story about Kosovo Serbs becomes a story about the president. And we didn’t have to wait long this time. The Informer front page on August 3 read: “Objective of the West: Kill Vučić in Kosovo.”
A 2021 report from the OSCE about the rights of non-Albanian communities in Kosovo states that although ethnic tensions have settled over the last decade, ethnically-motivated incidents targeting Serbs or the physical markers of Serbian language or culture are still regular occurrences. The most frequent instances are petty thefts and property damage, hateful graffiti, and the vandalization of Serbian Orthodox cemeteries. With this in the background, the tabloid headlines and narratives only heighten tensions further.
So it’s clear that articles about “hell in Kosovo” and “Serbia’s diplomatic victories” cannot be read in the same light by a Serb from Sremska Mitrovica and a Serb from North Mitrovica in Kosovo. Couple all this with air raid sirens, barricades and the sound of bullets and one thing becomes clear: this is the perfect timing for fear-mongering.
Though the tabloids present themselves as “standing with the people,” it’s clear that they feed themselves on this fear-mongering, that they cultivate it and make money from it. This form of pleasure is described in “Crime and Punishment,” when the half-dead colonel Marmeladov is carried into his apartment, while his neighbors, in Dostoevsky’s words, “pushed their way back towards the door, with that strange feeling of satisfaction which is always observed in people even when a sudden misfortune befalls those who are closest to them.” There is a German word for pleasure stemming from trouble: Schadenfreude.
If a Serbian variant of the GPT-3 software were tasked with writing an announcement about the coming “war in Kosovo,” it would probably, on the basis of simple instructions, create a text that no Serbian tabloid journalist would be ashamed of. The only difference would be that the software, unlike a journalist, wouldn’t feel that sudden surge of satisfaction as it announced an apocalypse.
Author: Stefan Janjić
Photo: Kosovo 2.0
This article was originally produced for and published by Kosovo 2.0 within the framework of RESILIENCE project. It has been re-published here with permission.
THE MEDIA ESCALATED THE SITUATION
August 26, 2022
INSTEAD OF OPPOSING INFORMATION CHAOS, SOME KOSOVO MEDIA OUTLETS CREATED IT
On June 29, 2022, the Kurti government took the decision to apply reciprocity measures against Serbia regarding personal identification documents. This meant that citizens of Serbia entering Kosovo, from August 1, would be provided with temporary forms replacing the documents issued by Serbia, a measure that has applied to citizens of Kosovo entering Serbia since 2011.
This decision caused a considerable reaction in the north of Kosovo. On the evening of July 29, groups of people blocked the border crossings at Jarinje and Brnjak with barricades and protests. A similar reaction occurred in September 2021, following the implementation of a measure requiring every vehicle with Serbian license plates entering Kosovo to replace the plates issued by Serbia with temporary ones — this too was an attempt to implement reciprocity measures with Serbia.
Kosovo and Serbia have continued the dialogue for the normalization of relations with mediation from the European Union (EU) since 2011. These blockades and protests are indicators that both countries have a long way to go towards normalization.
On the eve of the implementation of the decision regarding identification documents, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić declared through the Russian agency Tass: “The situation for our people in Kosovo and Metohija is very difficult. We have never been in a more difficult position than today. The Prishtina regime is trying to use the situation in the world, as the new Zelensky, represented by Albin Kurti, declares war on hegemony. The actions to ban Serbian documents begins tonight at midnight.”
In response to the increasingly tense situation, the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and other state officials met with the American ambassador in Prishtina, Jeffrey Hovenier, who forwarded a request from the United States government to postpone the implementation of the measures for one month due to “misinformation, misunderstanding and disinformation regarding this decision.” The Kurti government pledged to postpone the implementation until September 1, 2022 and as a result, the barricades were withdrawn.
However, the time between July 31 and August 1 was enough for the incident to reach front-page headlines in local, regional media and beyond. The matter was widely addressed and written about from different perspectives. However, the news delivered to the public was often one-sided and unconfirmed.
NARRATIVES OF WAR AND CONFLICT
One of the initial articles produced in Kosovo after the formation of the barricades purported that a member of the Kosovo Police was injured while on duty in the north. This misinformation drew significant reactions from social media users.
Organizations that deal with fact-checking in Kosovo for Facebook soon evaluated this news as untrue. The Kosovo Police denied the news. Then Berat Buzhala, on behalf of Gazeta Nacionale, the online news outlet which had published the article in question, apologized for the mistake and for misreporting.
However, the general coverage of events nurtured narratives of conflict.
Many of those who compiled and spread this news focused more on predicting what might go wrong than on reporting the facts. As a result, the media atmosphere was influenced by unconfirmed information coming from posts on social media, in some cases made by anonymous accounts. Even journalists who reported on the scene often started their coverage by referring to this information.
Eyewitnesses are reliable sources for journalists, but they are not necessarily sources that reflect events as they happen. The eyewitnesses on the southern side of the barricades see the incident only from where they stand and therefore their perspective of events is limited, the same thing applies to eyewitnesses on the northern side.
By using posts on Twitter and Facebook as sources, journalists, in addition to over-simplifying the situation, “others” people and helps further deepen the narrative of “us” and “them.” Othering fuels conflict. By constructing a divide it denies the humanity of a person or group. Consequently, those who are seen as “others” are considered less worthy of dignity and respect.
Journalists in Kosovo should be familiar with covering these kinds of incidents. Since there have been several similar crises, journalists should be prepared to handle information with caution. Carelessness in such cases can lead to or facilitate further tensions, as happened in 2000 and 2004 in Kosovo.
The first instance is commonly known as the “Dita” case. In 2000, the newspaper Dita published the name, home address, photograph and work schedule of a Kosovo Serb, Petar Topoljski, and accused him of participating in war crimes. Two weeks after the publication, Topoljski was found murdered. As a result, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) shut down the newspaper. The investigations, despite having continued for years, have not resulted in the arrest of the perpetrators or a confirmation of the charges.
The second case occurred in March 2004, when after the tragic drowning of three Albanian children in the Ibar River, information was given to the public broadcasting network (RTK) by a child who had witnessed the incident. The child claimed that some local Serbs had attacked him with dogs, a claim which was never verified by journalists. In some of the coverage of this incident, journalists reported sensationally and carelessly. In the heated days that followed, massive anti-Serb riots broke out across the country.
A 2004 report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) stated that if the reporting hadn’t included excessive emotion, prejudice, carelessness and “patriotic” duty, events might have taken another course. Adding that events might not have reached the same scale and level of brutality or might not have happened at all. Moreover, the accusations raised by the reporting have never been verified and no one has been held accountable.
Although this time the news of the police officer’s injury was quickly denied and the media apologized, the false claim spread fast and its presence on various platforms multiplied, increasing its opportunity to influence readers. Although there were no other consequences, it is important to consider how the two above cases demonstrate that misinformation can escalate the existing situation.
THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Social networks played an essential role in shaping the reporting and understanding of the events of July 31 and August 1. Aside from the fact that these platforms served as a space to express support and to share information, they also became channels of political communication and a source for the media.
Twitter and Facebook became an essential source of information for both Kosovars and the international audience. In Kosovo, they became information platforms and spaces to express political support for the actions of the Kosovo Police. In fact, a whole campaign using photos of the Kosovo Police was launched as a sign of support for the Kurti government’s decision. Journalists also joined this campaign.
Some journalists in Kosovo, in addition to their usual role, took on the role of activists. Journalists began to openly support the actions of the police and this was also reflected in their reporting. As a result, unverified and biased news was spread to the public in Kosovo. Journalism in the entire Western Balkans is witness to this phenomenon.
In addition, political actors, such as representatives of the Russian and Serbian governments, used these platforms for political communication, further increasing the significance of social networks in the reporting of this event. The hashtag #Kosovo was used to comment on the events in Kosovo and then comparisons started to be made to the war in Ukraine.
Roughly 15 minutes after the reaction from the President of Serbia, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs made an announcement on the messenger application Telegram supporting Vučić’s narrative about the “injustice and persecution of the Serbian population in Kosovo.” The Kosovar government’s statements for international and local audiences claimed Russian influence in these events. Prime Minister Kurti reiterated this position in an interview for the Italian newspaper la Repubblica. These public claims of Russian involvement drew the attention of those concerned with the war in Ukraine
A sample of 10,000 tweets about the events in the north of Kosovo was gathered by Twitter for the two day duration of the crisis, July 31 and August 1, the sample was then analyzed with software for qualitative and quantitative analysis (MaxQDA). The research found that “Kosovo” was mentioned 8,935 times and the word “Ukraine” was mentioned 895 times. These findings show that in about 10% of the communication about these events, Ukraine was also mentioned. The word “Putin” was mentioned 780 times and “Kiev” 700 times.
It is interesting to consider the origins of these tweets. About 1,000 of the 10,000 tweets and retweets came from India, while the second highest number came from Ghana.
It seems suspicious that so many of the tweets about the events originated in India, Ghana, Italy and Spain. These likely bot farms are used to fabricate posts on Facebook and Twitter and they’re sophisticated; their locations can be shielded and encrypted through virtual private networks (VPN). Similarly, it seems suspicious that the reaction from the government of Serbia, including Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Minister of Interior Affairs Aleksandar Vulin, were closely followed by reactions from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
These reactions on digital platforms were followed by posts and reposts from a host of users, but there was an anomaly in that about 25% of users were on computers and not smartphones, raising suspicions of an attempted influence campaign. It is much easier to operate multiple accounts on computers rather than mobile devices. With so many reactions on social media platforms, the topic trended for a while.
The “Twitter war” about the north of Kosovo created an excellent self-promotion opportunity for self-proclaimed “conflict experts.” Social media users who are active in commenting on the war in Ukraine, briefly turned their attention to the “war” in Kosovo. The media and social networks are a perfect environment for the cultivation of these supposed experts who make inflated claims about their sources or authority.
After a while, these “experts” strategically behave as such. In the case of Ukraine, such experts came into prominence around 2014, when the Russian Federation began annexing Crimea. When journalists quoted these sources about events in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, many were mid-ranking government officials, and after eight years, they are seen as more reliable, having built up experience and a large network of collaborators.
Countless users from EU countries and elsewhere began to explain the problems in the north of Kosovo, equating it with eastern Ukraine and Russia with Serbia. The political leadership in Kosovo and Ukraine shared these sources of information, increasing their relevance.
The journalists who warned that the situation had “escalated” had no verified information. Many news stories in Kosovo were built on misconceptions about the events in the north of Kosovo based on the reports everyday people provided on digital platforms. This resulted in poor and biased coverage of events. While diversity of opinion is welcome, the media should be careful who and how they make use of quotes.
Nowadays, in a world facing information chaos and the increasing influence of information warfare, the objectivity of journalists’ information gathering methods is more important than ever. Journalists must equip themselves with specialized knowledge on how to verify images and texts from digital platforms in order to be better informed on propaganda strategies and deliberate misinformation from dubious sources. Accurate information must be a professional imperative.
Author: Abit Hoxha
Photo: Kosovo 2.0
This article was originally produced for and published by Kosovo 2.0 within the framework of RESILIENCE project. It has been re-published here with permission.
Monthly Monitoring Highlights: Hate Speech in the Western Balkans throughout July
August 10, 2022
Throughout the month of July, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse.
Antisemitism in Albania
On Top Channel’s show “E Diell’, as part of the segment – Rrethi Katror’ – a frequent guest of the show, Alfred Cako, made problematic antisemitic statements. Cako is also known as Albania’s most prominent conspiracy theorist. The segment itself was focused on the topic of World War II, in which Cako claimed that the history books are inaccurate, and that it was in fact the Jewish people who started World War II against Germany with the intention of exterminating the German people.
This statement and claim can be perceived as revisionist, which, according to the European Convention on Human Rights, is a form of hate speech. Alongside this, Cako continued to make other dark statements containing elements of racism by arguing that “there is enough reason for the white race to be superior” as well as stating that “Jews have been kicked out of 100 countries…wherever they have invaded, they have destroyed [that country].”
Although this show aired in early June, by mid-July, Israel’s Embassy in Tirana sent a letter to the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to which Alfred Cako reacted to on his social media, arguing that his comments and statements were just “alternative ideas”.
Television channels, such as Top Channel, have an ethical and legal obligation as well as a responsibility for all content and discussions aired on their programme, therefore allowing the spread of antisemitic comments and historical revisionism with little to no limitations. Furthermore, with such a wide audience and outreach, these negative connotations will continue to fuel more religious intolerance.
Ethnic discrimination in Montenegro and Serbia
In Montenegro, as part of the Montenegrin Cultural Network campaign for the project ‘Montenegro without division’, a promotional photo for the project was published on the Network’s website. The photo displays representatives of all national communities shown in their traditional costumes except for the Roma community, who are pictured in the work uniforms of Serbia’s Public Utility Company.
In reaction to this, many organisations, and individuals themselves came forward to condemn the stereotypical and discriminatory representation of the members of the Roma community. In response to this, The Network issued a statement on social media that “they failed to provide Roma folk costumes” and they continued that as the proverb says “a suit does not make a man” and that it is more important that the Roma and Egyptians appeared equally as people in the campaign, rather than focusing on how they were dressed.
The level of discrimination and exclusion of the Roma community in comparison to other representatives of national communities within Montenegro is apparent here as by not providing traditional Roma folk costumes fosters an image of inequality. Also, the reaction of the Montenegrin Cultural Network portrayed a level of justification for the ethnic discrimination aimed towards the Roma community.
In Serbia, following Aleksandar Vučić’s ban from entering Croatia, there has been problematic media coverage and language used by Serbian politicians. A couple of days after the visit, Ivica Dačić, President of the National Assembly of Serbia, was invited on the local KURIR TV station to comment on it. During the show, when discussing the topic of Srebrenica during the war in the 90s and the level of education surrounding the genocide, Dačić denied Serbia’s involvement. He then argued that one can discuss the events which took place in Srebrenica if there is equal admittance of wrongdoing and crimes committed against the Serbian population during the World Wars.
Genocide denial is a serious issue that we are still experiencing till this day, decades after the loss of countless lives. Dačić argued that genocides differ in terms of acknowledgement and reconciliation process. Such arguments are highly problematic as genocide recognition and acknowledgement does not work on a quid pro quo basis. KURIR TV has an obligation to prevent such ethnic discrimination and harmful narratives from being spread amongst the public. The media should use their platform to educate and inform the public rather than promote hateful narratives and fuelling tensions that are already surrounding the case.
Sexism in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina
In Mitrovica, Kosovo, a 26-year-old woman reported her husband to the police on account of domestic and physical abuse. Following on from this incident, the police initiated a domestic violence procedure, resulting in the husband calling the woman’s parents to say that she can go back home, as she’s no longer his wife. She is now currently staying with her parents.
Local online news website Sinjali reported that the husband initiated a divorce case. The comments from the site’s Facebook page on this story were filled with sexist language and misogyny, arguing that it is actually a fact that women are the main cause of problems in the family. There were even a number of comments calling for men not to marry in the future.
In Kosovo the number of domestic violence cases is on the rise, and such incidents are reported almost on a daily basis. Due to the often-inadequate response from the police or mediators who insist that the woman return to her husband, several murders have also been recorded. In the traditional outlook of Kosovan society, the man is often seen as the ‘head of the family’ and that a woman is his ‘property’ thereby justifying forms of physical abuse. Often, it is not traditional media itself who spread sexism and misogyny, however, by reporting rather superficially, without in-dept approach to this important social issue, they leave space for spread of the existing misconceptions and sexist stands in the comments section. Comments are usually much more problematic that the content itself, but media do little or nothing to change that.
In the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a discussion was held in regards to an important law, when a number of male representatives from the ruling parties lashed out at an MP from the opposition, who is a woman. The individuals spoke out sharing personal remarks and commenting on her appearance. One of the male politicians went on to say to her “your facial expression, I wonder who can love you even politically. I know some who love it, they are very rare”.
This comment is both extremely unprofessional and sexist, as directing personal insults towards the MP, whether in a heated discussion or due to political disagreement, should never be justified. Politicians hold a level of both power and influence over public opinion and should therefore use their platform in a responsible and professional manner.
Hate speech in North Macedonia
Currently North Macedonia is facing political turmoil surrounding the necessary requirements and conditions for starting negotiations for future EU accession. The new ‘French proposal’ lays out concessions to be made by North Macedonia to Bulgaria in terms of the human rights of Bulgarians who reside within North Macedonia. This would involve a change within the constitution itself, allowing for their greater rights as a condition for Bulgaria to lift the veto so that North Macedonia can start the accession negotiations.
On the other hand, not everyone is keen for this proposal. Dimitar Apasiev, leader of the Levica party, has been one of the most vocal opponents of this. The leader has taken to social media to call out members of the government who are considering such proposals. In one of his posts on Twitter, he went on to call President Pendarovski highly inappropriate names due to the fact that the president allegedly claimed that he didn’t see the new proposals as wrong.
When one politician is personally offended rather than just challenging the stands of political opponent, sharing public opinion in a disrespectful manner can often worsen the situation at hand. Members of parliament hold a certain moral responsibility and duty to be accountable for their actions and hold themselves in a professional manner. Such comments made on social media not just widen the gap between those in favour and those in opposition of this proposal, but more generally foster tensions in the society.
TROLL OF THE MONTH: JOQ Albania
August 3, 2022
The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkans region.
This month’s Troll is JOQ Albania which recently reported on a non-consensual TikTok video taken in a club thereby breaching legal and professional practices.
JOQ Albania is a media outlet with a national reach and large audience. Recently, the outlet published an article with the title ‘Today’s youth gives a show at the pub/The girl between two boys, the one in front caresses her and the one behind sucks on her neck’. The article refers to a TikTok video which depicted a young woman who was clearly being sexually harassed and assaulted by two young men at a club. Furthermore, from the video it was obvious that the young woman was intoxicated which calls into question both her level of consciousness and awareness surrounding the filming and posting of the video. The actions towards the young woman including filming and uploading the video on TikTok without her consent is both extremely problematic and, effectively, a crime. JOQ’s editorial decision to report and publish the video on their platform disregards all professional and legal practices. Sharing the video for the sake of making ‘news’ with a clickbait headline could be considered a crime in itself as it redistributes content that includes illegal activities.
Not only was this video both reported and commented on by JOQ Albania, it was furthermore, posted on their official Instagram site with the caption that read “give your comment on the trio”. This resulted in a stream of comments underneath the video including a range of inappropriate jokes mocking the situation at hand. Captions such as these spur on sexist and misogynistic narratives amongst the public regarding serious acts of harassment. Such practices only uphold and encourage similar behaviours in the society with little to no repercussions.
Sexual harassment is a serious topic and one which should not go without accountability and consequence. The act of spreading such videos and captions further encourages behaviour with no responsibility or acknowledgement of the extremely problematic issue of harassment and non-consensual behaviour. Moreover, the topic and issue of consent is a serious one and one which should not go unnoticed. Filming and sharing content on social media without the consent and permission of those involved goes against community guidelines.
JOQ Albania, which has a wide and influential outreach and audience, holds both an ethical and legal obligation to report in a professional and correct manner. The reporting and sharing of this video in which the young woman is clearly intoxicated is extremely unprofessional and problematic. Furthermore, the sharing of the video on their Instagram page with a caption that encourages harassment promotes sexist and disrespectful comments to be made in reaction. Such sensationalistic reporting of something that could be covered as a serious social issue, enables sexism within society and disregards the role the media should have in society. JOQ Albania and other media outlets alike should adhered to the Code of Journalistic Ethics and report in a professional and appropriate manner.
Article 3 of the Code of Journalism Ethics, which refers to private life, clearly states:
“a) The press must respect the private life and the intimate sphere of the person. The observations and investigations on the private life are not allowed. It is not ethical to use telephoto lens in order to take photographs of the private life.
b) Its publication must be done only if it is in the public interest.
c) The photographing of the private environment must not be done without the person’s permission.”
In addition, article 14 recognises discrimination:
“The journalist must avoid, by all means, the discrimination based on race, sex, language, religion, political views, physical handicap, social or national origins.”
HATE SPEECH DOESN’T STOP AFTER PRIDE MONTH
July 28, 2022
All this brings us to the question: can LGBT people feel safe and protected by the state authorities in North Macedonia?
As has been often the case in previous years, this third Pride parade that took place in Skopje was, unfortunately, met with a lot of hate speech on social media. The posts on the media reporting on the Parade showed dozens of comments with humiliating speech on how homosexuality is “unnatural,” including calls for violence against the LGBT community and derogatory language. Counter parades were also held in Skopje and Bitola and they opposed the Skopje Pride.
Although the counter parade in Skopje practically cannot even be qualified as a parade because it did not include more than a few dozen attendees, in Bitola the counter parade had a larger presence, which is a significant indicator showing how much the LGBT community is still not accepted by many people in our rather conservative environment.
According to Bitola News, Dragana Spasovska said the following at the Bitola event on behalf of the organizers of the parade:
[The goal is to] raise our voice clearly and loudly against the perverted human values that are imposed on us through the traditional media outlets, social media, legislation, including education, and later about education, textbooks, sexual education, questionnaires…
Since this event took place in Bitola as a reaction to Skopje Pride, it is very clear what Spasovska considers “perverted values”. These parades are probably shown as a way to protect families and children, but are actually physical manifestations of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. People who organize such counter parades talk about “family values” being threatened by the LGBT community and this “concern” can easily turn into hate speech. This same “concern” also leads to a moral panic on how the LGBT community “threatens” the traditional family, marriage, increases promiscuity, reduces the birth rate and with all this destroys the society.
This narrative twists the positions of power – the LGBT community is portrayed as a powerful minority imposing its values on the heterosexual majority, which is a narrative that resembles the anti-Semitic stereotypes where the Jews are those that are “secretly” controlling the society, although they are religious and ethnic group that has been historically oppressed, marginalized and even murdered by the dominant majority in various countries.
The reality is that the LGBT community is not a powerful minority but rather a marginalized group that does not have many essential rights in North Macedonia. Same-sex couples do not have the right to marry (which denies them other rights such as inheriting property, hospital visits, etc.), nor the right to establish their own family by adopting children.
Transgender people are particularly marginalized because we do not have a law on gender recognition through which trans people could change their gender marker and align their identity documents – currently, trans people are exposed to discrimination, harassment and sometimes even violence because of non-aligned documents.
All these things refer only to the legal obstacles the LGBT community faces, that is, many of them are also socially isolated, rejected by their families, targets of speech and acts of hatred, discrimination at jobs and many other social issues that are a result of queerphobia.
Anti-gender movements
Facilitated by easier access to the Internet, the attacks on the LGBT community are now even more common in the digital space of social media, rather than physically. In the last few years, several Facebook pages and groups have been actively spreading queerphobia through misinformation about comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), the LGBT community, and transgender people in particular.
Some of these groups are somewhat known to the public, especially the association “Od nas za nas” touting itself as an “Association of citizens for the protection of human rights” and often as a group of “concerned parents” that are independently organized. However, they mostly spread hate speech against the LGBT community, anti-vaxxer propaganda, and misinformation about CSE and civil society organizations that advocate for CSE and LGBT rights.
“Od nas za nas” is part of the so-called “anti-gender movement” – an academic term referring to movements across Europe and around the world that oppose the concept of gender and believe only in “biological sex”. That is, by arguing that there are no socially constructed gender roles, but only biologically based gender, anti-gender movements oppose groups of people and activities they consider “unnatural,” such as same-sex relationships and transgender people.
Recently, a website has appeared that brings together various organizations sharing certain right-wing values: Coalition for Protection of Children. “Od nas za nas” is on the list of organizations, associations and social media pages that are part of this coalition. Also included on this list are the transphobic Facebook page “Prezemi odgovornost”, the political party “Rodina Makedonija” and “Lidija srce shto chuka”, which is an organization that opposes the right to abortion.
This Coalition undoubtedly spreads homo/bi/transphobia and demonizes the LGBT community, presenting it as dangerous to children. The Coalition, of course, presents itself as simply being “concerned” about children.
It must be noted that it is highly unlikely that common “concerned parents” are behind this Coalition since the website itself says that the main partner of the Coalition is Family Watch International (FWI), an American organization that opposes CSE, LGBT rights and the right to abortion. The Coalition is also supported by the transphobic Scandinavian organization Gender Identity Challenge Scandinavia.
Although it is still unclear whether this Coalition directly receives funding from these two far more influential organizations, especially the FWI which has only been around since 1999, these connections must not be ignored. The rhetoric used by the Coalition is very similar to that used by these two international organizations. For example, the Coalition says the following:
We believe that every child deserves a safe and carefree childhood. (…) Unfortunately, that peaceful childhood began to be disturbed by the introduction of various ideologies in education, the most frightening of which is the (trans)gender ideology, which promotes the idea that gender is changeable, and men can become women and women can become men.
Hate speech over a colourful bench?
The anti-gender movement so far and especially this Coalition have been creating a narrative that scares the parents about how their children will be “indoctrinated” in the school system with “LGBT propaganda” and with that they are becoming an unsafe environment and they lose their innocence. This fear of “LGBT indoctrination” in education can be seen in a very absurd situation on social media that happened last week.
Dejan Slamkov was the target of hate speech because of a bench painted in the colours of the rainbow in his native village of Stojakovo. It was Slamkov who was attacked because of this bench, probably because he publicly came out as a gay person and he is a young activist for LGBT rights and hosts the LGBT-focused podcast Save Our Children.
Although it is not clear whether it was these movements that caused the incident with Slamkov, we must not underestimate the anti-gender narratives and their potential effects.
“Stereotypes followed by conspiracy theories related this bench with me. Somehow, a colorful desk at a school was associated by a common person with the LGBT+ Pride flag. He decided to share that “conclusion” on his Facebook profile so the people in the comments can declare me the “President of the LGBT community” who did all this and that “I call on young people to become members of the community”. I honestly did not know whether to laugh or cry at this”, said Slamkov explaining this incident to Res Publica.
“This post and all the comments that followed show that people have no knowledge of what it means to be part of the LGBT+ community, let alone understand our feelings and experiences. I received direct threats to my life and insults from people who are my neighbours – these are people who are coming from the same small place where everyone knows each other and those words now make me feel unsafe when I visit Stojakovo”, added Slamkov.
Slamkov reported this incident to the police for hate speech based on sexual orientation. Unfortunately, this type of speech is rarely sanctioned by the responsible authorities. As the anti-gender movement has rarely been punished for spreading hate speech, it is very likely that the threats against Dejan Slamkov will also go unpunished.
All this brings us to the question: can LGBT people feel safe and protected by the state authorities in North Macedonia?
Author: Elena Gagovska
Photo: Natalia de la Rubia / Shutterstock
MEDIA MONITORING REPORTS: Hate speech in the Balkans mainly targets ethnicity, gender identity and sexual orientation
July 19, 2022
According to the media monitoring reports produced within the Reporting Diversity Network 2.0 project, three categories were identified as the main target of hate speech: ethnicity, gender identity and sexuality. These three categories which were the result of monitoring 465 single incidents across the region, make up more than fifty percent of cases (53,13%).
Within the Western Balkan region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), research has highlighted that racism, sexism, misogyny, nationalism and intolerance to different political, sexual or national identities are still present and still very strong.
Ethnicity is the most problematic category, according to the research findings. Instances of hate speech targeting ethnicity were often tied to the war in the 90s, incidents against migrants and refugees, and the current political situation.
The impact of the wars in the 1990s is most clearly seen in the cases detected in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cases shows that the target are the so-called constituent nations (Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats), but also the victims of the Srebrenica genocide and in some cases the Roma or Jewish communities as well. The denial of the Srebrenica genocide, for example, happens not just in Bosnia, but also in Serbia. The legacy of 1990’s wars, more generally, still humpers the inter-ethnic relations in the region.
The second most commonly targeted identity is gender. Sexism (mostly targeted towards women) and misogyny are the most common forms of hate speech. What we could see in different cases identified in the region, is that the failure to meet social expectations often serves as a basis for targeting, as some authors (Barratt) call it: femininity-as-fail.
One tendency that is potentially more dangerous than others that are related to gender-based hate speech is the narrative that is created around gender-based violence cases that receive more publicity. Namely, the regional analysis showed that gender-based violence is often accompanied by a narrative that justifies violence and generates hate speech.
The third most commonly targeted group in the region was the one of sexual minorities including predominantly the LGBTQ+ community. The main triggers of incidents which were detected in the period of research, are mostly connected to initiatives which are trying to improve the rights of LGBTIQ community in the region.
Based on RDN 2.0’s monitoring period, six national reports have been created focusing on specific instances and general trends and patterns of hate speech within the Western Balkan region. The data for all six reports were collected in the period of January 2021 – April 2022 whereby, different cases of hate speech were identified through monitoring of both traditional media as well as social media posts related to different identities and groups in the society (such as gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual minorities, and migrants/refugees).
The researchers in all six countries followed a standardised methodology to provide a harmonized overview of specific instances of hate speech either reported or distributed by the media. This provided both a quantitative approach in detecting the frequency of incidents as well as qualitative analysis including narrative analysis, sentiment analysis and visibility analysis to provide an in-depth understanding of the narratives in each of the Western Balkan countries.
Based on the collected data and research, it has become clear that there is a strong promotion of the division between ‘us’ and ‘them’ which has become a tool of maintaining the status quo or, in some cases, securing the political advantage of certain groups in the society. Hate speech has been used and abused as a political tool in public debates and the political arena.
To learn more about hate speech narratives in the region see country reports:
MEDIA MONITORING REPORT: A REGIONAL OVERVIEW
MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN ALBANIA
MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN KOSOVO
MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN MONTENEGRO
MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN NORTH MACEDONIA
MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN SERBIA
Monthly Monitoring Highlights: Hate speech in the Western Balkans throughout June
July 12, 2022
Throughout the month of June, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month there has been a rise in religious hate speech, sexism and ethnic discrimination in the Western Balkan region.
Sexism in Montenegro, Albania and Serbia
In Montenegro, the website Aktuelno.me, has a section called ‘Beauties from Instagram’ in which readers select ‘the most beautiful women’ from Instagram. This month, Aktuelno.me published a post with the title ‘Beauty from Instagram – Sara Žižić’ and under the headline it was written ‘In the BEAUTY FROM INSTAGRAM we present the graceful, naturally beautiful, model SARA ŽIŽIĆ, who in addition to her beauty, is adorned by her traditional values’. This article went on to publish various photos of Žižić taken from her Instagram profile. Columns such as these are extremely misogynistic and sexist as women are depicted as objects and their respective values are measured by their beauty. In traditional and patriarchal societies, such as Montenegro, a woman’s value is measured by her beauty and appearance. The choice of language in the title and addition in the text that Žižić is adorned with respect to her ‘traditional values’ portrays the message that the ‘ideal woman’ should respect the traditional and patriarchal structures in society. Sections such as this one on a variety of similar webpages contribute to the consistent media representation of unrealistic beauty standards which mainly focus on the physical aspect of women’s characteristics.
JOQ Albania, in one of its posts which include polls in the form of a question posed to its social media followers, predominantly on Instagram, recently asked an extremely problematic and sexist question to the public. The question was whether women prefer money or the person nowadays – ‘The person or money, who do women prefer nowadays’. Not only is this question suggestive of women forming relationships and interests in partners with the aim of finding money but it is furthermore extremely sexist and inaccurate.
One user commented in the comment section of the post ‘why not ask what men prefer today? Or are these questions always only for women? Have you noticed how many men go out and get married for stupid documents? A woman loves the person; she wants security. Do men know how to give this? Or just to take advantage of one woman and then go with another? So, when you ask, ask for both genders.’ This reaction highlights the level of sexism within the media and the focus on women and their choice in partnerships as one in which there are hidden interests at play.
The fact that a media outlet such as JOQ Albania, which has a large reach and followers, is posing such a question and is opening the debate surrounding such matters is problematic because it provides a platform to individuals to spread negative, hateful and sexist rhetoric. Posts and debates such as these only uphold and maintain misogynistic values in society.
In Serbia, following the Roe vs. Wade’s overturn by the Supreme Court in the United States, lawyer and member of the Serbian Progressive Party, Vladimir Đukanović, shared a number of sexist and hateful tweets aimed at individuals supportive of abortion rights. One of these tweets read ‘Bravo for the decision! Feminists and all other atheists, take your uterus and cry’. This was followed by another tweet which displayed a picture of three cows with the caption ‘Feminists in disbelief due to the ban on abortus in the USA’. He went on to quickly justify this tweet in another post reading ‘I did not compare women, but aggressive feminists who otherwise in their manner insult the views of us believers. Yes, I consider them the worst evil that advocate for the legalisation of murder. I tell you nicely, if you don’t like it, block me’.
On top of this, he went on to express his anger towards what he claims to be ‘insane feminists’; ‘I enjoy monstrous aggression and insulting insane feminists. The US Supreme Court killed them in a sense and their attempt to legalise murder as something normal has collapsed. The ideology of death that these frustrated people advocate, thank God, have been defeated. Evil is on its knees’.
Vladimir Đukanović, has around 7,000 followers on Twitter and a large reach in the country. By sharing such sexist, hateful and misogynistic narratives towards women and those in support of abortion rights, these comments are further spread and upheld in society. The insulting language and use of degrading imagery including the comparison of women to that of cows, is highly demeaning and shameful. Politicians and those in power with large influence and authority hold a moral obligation towards their actions and should be held accountable for the spread of negative and highly sexist narratives in society. Although the debate surrounding abortion is a highly polarised one, the fact remains that everyone has the right of self-autonomy and freedom of choice.
Islamophobia in Kosovo
Lawyer Arianit Koci recently wrote a post on his FB profile spreading Islamophobic tropes. His post read: ‘I don’t know how many of you have noticed, but in our country the number of ladies and gentlemen who have started wearing the headscarf is growing rapidly, not to say in a worrying way.’ He also added ‘and it’s not a scarf like some of our grandmothers used to wear, this is typical scarf that expresses religious commitment. Does it reflect the Albanian identity and our European commitment? Not at all!’ He moreover, emphasised that wearing headscarves can only be prohibited by law and that it is something which does not lie in accordance with the culture of Albanians. Amongst other things, he wrote ‘The lack of communication with Europe, mainly due to the isolation unfairly imposed on us by the European Union, is one of the main reasons for the spread of religious ideology. Religious political ideology’.
Hundreds of individual users have reacted to his post, amongst which the largest number of them have reacted negatively towards Koci’s opinion, mostly through hateful language. Even Arianit Koci himself has informed the public that he has received numerous threats following this post, which he believes came from the Kosovo ‘Taliban’. This post was further picked up and published by the online newspaper ‘Insajderi’ which also published it on their respective Facebook profile.
In Kosovo, there has been a long debate over the years on whether or not headscarves should be allowed in schools and institutions in the country. Individuals wearing headscarves although small in number, are employed in a variety of institutions with no prohibition or restriction. Recently, young girls who are covered are seen more and more often on the streets on Pristina. Various sociologists associate this phenomenon mainly with poverty and the privileges that such persons receive from various humanitarian organizations from the Middle East, which have been present in Kosovo in large numbers since the end of the war in 1999. Part of the intellectual community and a large percentage of the urban society, believe that such religious identification does not belong with the Albanian culture and values whilst others see the interpretations of the Quran other than the traditional one, having a serious impact on the security situation in Kosovo and posing an obstacle to rapid European integration.
These narratives and ideas, shared on social media platforms only spread hateful and Islamophobic narratives within society. These ideas only further fuel the existing hatred and discrimination towards the Muslim population within Kosovo.
Ethnic discrimination in Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia
In the city of Gradačac, the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina placed a sign on a small cemetery with the inscription ‘A place for burying citizens from mixed marriages. It is forbidden to perform any religious rites. It is forbidden to place any symbols on the gravestone’.
This sign is extremely problematic. By discriminating against individuals of mixed marriage, such signs create segregation within society and uphold divisions between individuals of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Signs and displays such as these further fuel ethnic discrimination and xenophobia within the region by promoting the idea that individuals of mixed marriage do not belong with the rest of society. These narratives only create tension within heterogeneous communities.
In North Macedonia, during a parliamentary session on the 27th of June, the MP of the largest Albanian party in Macedonia, Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), held a session where they proposed to prolong the pension years for judges in the country. The opposition VMRO-DPMNE opposed this, fearing that it’s just another way of imposing control over the judiciary. Several of the VMRO-DPMNE MPs stormed the speaker booth in the Parliament, trying to turn off the mic of the DUI speaker Arber Ademi. Ademi responded by standing up and pushing away the hands of the VMRO-DPMNE MPs and at one point, he proceeded to throw a coffee mug and a plastic bottle at the MPs. Following this, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Valmir Aziri, published a post on his Facebook profile claiming that the Anti-Albanian MP Antonio Miloshoski (one of the MP’s that tried to shut down Ademi’s microphone) ‘deserves more’ and that the new generations of Albanians will ‘break the legs and arms’ of those that oppose and go against Albanians in the future. The post has since been removed.
There is increasing and growing tension between the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) and DUI political parties on the one side and the VMRO-DPMNE on the other. This is just one of the series of arguments and debates that they have all been involved in recently.
This confrontation is problematic on a number of levels. The fact that political leaders, including members of parliament as well as the State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, spread hateful and, in some cases, aggressive narratives which call for violence towards those against Albanians, fuels ethnic tensions and may even promote violence in society. Political leaders have a responsibility and duty over their actions and behaviour and should avoid such language and rhetoric that creates division and hostility between ethnic communities in North Macedonia.
TROLL OF THE MONTH: Vladimir Đukanović, Member of the Serbian Progressive Party and lawyer
July 6, 2022
The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate on the internet based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkans region.
June Troll is Vladimir Đukanović, Member of the Serbian Progressive Party and lawyer, who in reaction to the Roe vs. Wade overturn in the USA, spread highly sexist and hateful narratives towards women and feminists because of the topic of abortion.
Roe v. Wade was a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1973 which ruled that the US Constitution protected the liberty of women to choose to have an abortion. Its overturn means that the women’s right to choose to have an abortion is no longer constitutionally protected and falls under the legislation of each US state, which can lead to general restriction reproductive rights in more conservative states. As a reaction to these recent events in the USA, there has been an increasing number of individuals sharing their opinions and taking part in debates on the matter on various social media platforms.
One such individual is the lawyer and Member of the Serbian Progressive Party, Vladimir Đukanović, who recently shared a number of tweets commenting on abortion rights and on the recent US Supreme Court decision. One of these tweets read “Bravo for the decision! Feminists and all other atheists, take your uterus and cry”. This was followed by another tweet which displayed a picture of three cows with the caption “Feminists in disbelief due to the ban on abortion in the USA”. He accompanied this with another explanation where he stated that his intention was never to compare women to cows but rather feminists themselves; “I did not compare women, but aggressive feminists who otherwise in their manner insult the views of us believers. Yes, I consider them the worst evil that advocate the legalisation of murder. I tell you nicely, if you don’t like it, block me”.
If this is not bad enough, he furthermore, went on to express his attitude and bitterness towards, what he claims are, ‘insane feminists’. His tweet read: “I enjoy monstrous aggression and insulting insane feminists. The US Supreme Court killed them in a sense and their attempt to legalise murder as something normal has collapsed. The ideology of death that these frustrated people advocate, thank God, has been defeated. Evil is on its knees”.
Vladimir Đukanović, is an individual of political importance and well-known politician in Serbia. He has around 7, 076 followers on Twitter and a large reach and influence in the country. Such sexist, hateful and insulting narratives towards women and those in support of abortion rights on social media, could risk spreading such ideas within society. Furthermore, the degrading and insulting language, and use of imagery towards feminists is extremely problematic. The labelling of certain women fighting for abortion rights and equality as ‘aggressive’ and ‘insane’ creates a negative image and rhetoric within society towards feminists and women worldwide. It also marginalises and creates hostility in society towards these groups of people who may feel personally attacked by such statements and narratives.
Political leaders and individuals with a large, influential platform, holding positions of power, should be held responsible for their actions. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. However, the spread of hateful, sexist and derogatory narratives towards women and feminists, including the use of downgrading comparisons to that of animals, is extremely problematic. These narratives and hate speech only uphold misogynistic and sexist views in society as well as fuelling hatred towards women and those fighting for abortion rights.
Abortion rights are and always have been a matter which is extremely debated within society. The recent events in the United States following the Roe vs. Wade overturn has further polarised this debate and exposed various stances on the matter. However, regardless of individual opinion, the fact remains: every individual should have the right of autonomy over their own body. Nobody should have the power or control to restrict and limit an individual’s self-autonomy and freedom. Every individual should have the liberty and prerogative to exercise their free will.
FROM THE US TO THE WESTERN BALKANS: The Abortion Debate Reaches Western Balkan Media
July 4, 2022
One could say that it would make sense to assume that the freedoms we have today and which we once fought for, are won forever. However, the US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade which protected women’s right to choose to have an abortion proves that rights are not guaranteed and cannot be safeguarded forever. The publicity that the Supreme Court’s decision has taken globally, brought to the fore the abortion debate in the Balkans.
The media agenda in different Balkan countries seems to be influenced by one another. As such, when the abortion debate reached Croatia, it sparked a debate in Serbia. During a discussion in a Serbian TV channel a representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church said that Serbia ‘is disappearing due to abortion’. Such arguments are in line with the government’s views regarding abortion. Ratko Dmitrovic, the Minister for Family Care has accused women for being so emancipated that they no longer want to give birth: ‘Women who do not want to give birth are to blame for the population decline in Serbia’, the minister said, and further in attacked those who have a single child or those who will not or cannot give birth: ‘We have women who say – ‘I just don’t care, I won’t give birth’. And no one is allowed to say anything to her, to resent her. Those who have attacked me, (…) are mostly women with one child, or those who do not have children. So, they simply do not allow it to be discussed,’ said Dmitrovic.
At the same time, controversial topics such as abortion and reproductive rights in general seem to be used by the mainstream media in order to distract the public from other crucial issues that have political implication of the country’s government.
Reproductive rights, including the right to abortion, in the region became a public issue in 1969, when Serbia was part of Yugoslavia, with the case of Šefka Hodžić who was convicted for murder of her pregnant friend Alija Hasanović. This case is also an example of how patriarchal matrices are woven into motherhood and how the imposed patriarchal patterns could lead to fatal situations.
According to the indictment, a woman from the Bosnian village near Zvornik killed a pregnant acquaintance, took the fetus out of her womb which lived, and then presented it as her own child. Before the incident, the women who was unable to conceive, wore a pillow for nine months and pretended to be pregnant. This incident has also inspired playwright Maja Pelević to write the shocking piece titled “The Last Girls”, which talks about how wombs have become factories that “produce” babies, how women are losing control of their bodies, and how capitalism is becoming the “majority owner” of women’s wombs.
‘I’m not saying that the right in Serbia is not steadily growing. It is growing, but it is still, it seems to me, controlled. Everything that the government is currently doing regarding world events and our attitude towards it is quite a big ping-pong game. In a country that has not even come close to some serious EU negotiations, a very big problem would be if the issue of abortion were suddenly raised. We are now fulfilling various EU quotas: human rights, gay rights, and even the Pride that took place (Pelević calls it “Vučić’s Pride”), but if only that were really the Serbian mentality. I do, however, think it’s all purely on paper. Because it had to happen. That is why it does not seem realistic to me that now the church is suddenly strengthening so much that it regulates things such as the ban on abortion. I don’t know if something different will happen in the future, if the extreme right will develop enough to enter the parliament in large numbers. But it doesn’t seem like that to me. I think that the right-liberal current is much stronger at the moment and in that sense it would not allow itself that kind of mishap. That is the way it balances out, it is a kind of game Vucic plays between “being a great European” and flirting with Russia, but I don’t believe that he would go that far because it would not be in his favor, and not because he wishes women well. I think that for him, on his path, which is the proverbial path of sitting between two chairs, it would be very radical,’ Maja Pelević tells RDN.
Maja Pelević also connects the emergence of the abortion narrative in Serbia and in the region the understanding of liberal capitalism.
‘Capitalism, is closely tied to patriarchy, which is again tied to the right. The neoliberal order is the right order. Not the left one. In some left-wing practices, there are freedoms and much more humane ways of life, regarding all aspects of life: people and classes, religion and nation, men and women. These rights must be won again because they do not really exist in capitalism. They do exist on paper, as in America, for example, there are anti-racist policies, but still, there are cases where African-Americans in Central America are killed without pardon. Capitalism has all these totalitarian fascist ways of functioning, but it masks them well: the media and various phrases like – freedom, equality, justice, but in essence, we all know very well that these are countries where, daily, human rights are very much endangered indeed. The case of Julian Assange is a very eloquent example in that sense,’ concludes Pelević.
The patriarchal narratives in the Serbian society and the media seem to be the root of the reemergence of the abortion issue in the country.
‘The female body in Serbia, unfortunately, belongs least of all to women. Her body is in constant ownership of the patriarchal mentality: the only acceptable female body is the female body which lacks freedom. Even while she is a little girl – they pierce her ears and decorate her without her consent, telling her “others decide regarding you”. If a woman wants to dress at her own discretion – it is as unacceptable, as – according to the standards of masses – it is to decide regarding her own offspring, if she does not say “no” loud enough, if she says “yes” too loudly. The oppression served through tradition and the church, and now through politics, is never direct, but insidious. This oppression is presented as freedom, but with restrictions: to have measures, to have good taste, to be feminine, to have feminine manners, to respect the elderly. A woman in Serbia thinks she is free until she starts practicing the definition of true freedom. Only then does she realize that this original freedom was actually a cage,’ Bogdan Stevanovic tells RDN.
Stevanovic, who is also known as Blogdan, is a ardent advocate of women’s rights in Serbia and his social media are followed gather a very large audience.
The abortion debate in Bosnia-Herzegovina
The issue of the right to abortion in all Western Balkan countries seems to be on the same path. Like Serbia, the abortion debate has reached Bosnia-Herzegovina as well.
‘It is interesting that every freedom must be fought for, but for every abolition of freedom, only one signature on a document is enough. The problem with abortion, whether we are “for” or “against”, is that it can be banned, but it cannot be stopped. What can be done is to make a phenomenal ground for illegal “butchers” who have always operated, not only in the movies we watch, but also in real life. The legal ban on abortion is not only a threat to the right to choose, but also a direct threat to a woman’s life. And again, it is very interesting that what happens to a woman’s body is decided by the law,’ says Verdana Božinović who is the first woman director of the Sarajevo National Theater Drama in its 100 years history.
Božinović also referred to Margaret Atwood’s book the “Handmaid’s Tale”, which was adapted as a series which depicts a world without individuality. A conservative world where women are merely the property of men. Art, music, and theater are forbidden. “Offenses of homosexuality”, abortion, reading books, disagreements with the system – they are punished by public hanging. In the same world there are women who are, legally, raped once a month by their ‘owners’ in order to give birth to children.
‘The abolition of one freedom always brings the abolition of the second and the third and the fourth… until there are no more freedoms. Until there is no more life,’ Bozinovic tells RDN.
Author: Snežana Miletic
Photo: Longfin Media/ Shutterstock