Troll of the Month: The Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Mioković

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 Balkan region.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dragan Mioković, appeared on the Face TV program. Face TV is a commercial television channel based in Sarajevo. On the show, there was a discussionsurrounding events that took place during WW2. Mioković  made reference to a specific event in Bleiberg, Austria whereby the Croatia Nazi-sponsored Ustaša surrendered to British forces in May 1945. The exact number of those killed after Bleiburg remains disputed among historians; however, Mioković stated that too few Croats were killed, a remark widely interpreted as justifying or minimising post-war crimes.

Following this, there was fierce public and political reactions including from The Croatian National Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HNS BiH), who requested his irrevocable resignation. The Croatian Party of Rights of Bosnia and Herzegovina equally asked for his resignation. Mioković in response, issued an apology, claiming that the statement was clumsy and made “in the heat of the moment”.

Dragan Mioković’s statement, which suggests that during the events of 1945 “more Croats should have been killed,” constitutes hate speech by suggesting the justification and normalisation of mass violence against an ethnic group, thereby directly violating the principle prohibiting the incitement of hatred and violence against protected groups.

Comments and threats made on public television, especially calls for the death of an entire ethnic group, are deeply disturbing and unacceptable. A statement like this, made by a high-ranking public official on a television program with a large audience, further enhances its weight and potential harm.

It is already dangerous that a politician used their platform and voice to spread hate and call for violence of an ethnic group, but it is equally serious that the TV programme Face gave him space to do so. A broadcaster has a responsibility to challenge this kind of rhetoric in real time, and they should have intervened and issued a clear apology to their audiences. 

Bosnia and Herzegovina is an ethnically and religiously diverse society whose unity remains fragile. Cases like these when political leaders use their platform to spread hate against another ethnic community within the country, only further heightens these pre-existing tensions. For this reason, political leaders should uphold their responsibility and professionality and not use their voice to create tensions between ethnic groups but rather vouch for peaceful co-existence.