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Anti-Montenegrin sentiment

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Anti-Montenegrin sentiment is a generally negative view of Montenegrins as an ethnic group, commonly involving denial of the Montenegrin ethnicity and language, and negative feelings towards Montenegro. It is present in right-wing discourse in Montenegro[1][2] and the ex-Yugoslavia region, mainly Serbia,[3][4] and dates back to the 19th and 20th century.[5]

In the media

Although Montenegrin right-wing media such as IN4S often attempt to display historical proof that Montenegrins are Serbs and that the Montenegrin nationality doesn't exist,[6][7] the most common examples of anti-Montenegrin sentiment are found in Serbian media. Serbia wields its media influence to spread narratives and disinformation, employing bombastic headlines regarding Montenegro's development as a country. In 2020, Happy TV and TV Pink S were suspended from broadcasting on Montenegrin cable TV by media regulation for 3 months because their talk-show programs where they promoted hate speech, intolerance and discrimination against Montenegrins.[8]

Serbian tourists visit Montenegro in large numbers. In summer 2019, for example, upwards of 460,000 Serbian tourists visited the country. Because of the tourism industry's significant importance as a means of national income and the intense Serbian interest in vacationing in the country, the industry is high on the list of targets against which Serbian media spread disinformation, especially in the lead up to the summer season. Many articles from Serbian outlets cast Montenegro as an expensive and unsafe tourist destination with dirty beaches and aggressive locals, featuring headlines such as: “Tourists massively cancel their vacations in Montenegro” and “Snakes came out from the sea and went after people on the Buljarica beach.” Similar discourse has been observed in prior years, but so far it has not impacted the number of Serbian visitors or the overall tourism economy.[9]

In governments

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The June 2020 plenary session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska consisted of nationalistic and anti-Montenegrin remarks, along with heavy insults against the highest officials of Montenegro.[10]

In 2021, Banja Luka mayor Draško Stanivuković said the Montenegrin nation was 'made up' and called the 2006 independence referendum fake.[11][12]

Serbia

After the dissolution of the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro and the Montenegrin independence that followed, Serbian influence has become more and more apparent.

Minister of Health of Serbia Zlatibor Lončar claimed that there are too many Montenegrins and that he tends not to have Montenegrins working in Serbian institutions.[13]

Members of Serbia's Montenegrin Party have claimed that the latest textbooks in Serbia are written in such a way as to belittle Montenegrin history and that they are full of forgeries.[14] In September 2022, the Montenegrin Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded that Serbia removes explicit material, pushing the narrative that Montenegro tried to ethnically cleanse Serbs, from its textbooks.[15][16]

In the Serbian Orthodox Church

Serbia also exerts its influence through a church in Montenegro: the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral, the largest eparchy of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the dominant church in Montenegro. The church is often criticised for its heavy political involvement that sometimes raises concerns in EU institutions.[17][18][19][20]

Since the breakup of Yugoslavia, religious figures of the Serbian Orthodox Church, including the late Metropolitan Amfilohije and Patriarch Irinej, and, to a lesser extent, their successors Joanikije II and Porfirije, dispute the existence of Montenegrins as a nation, calling them "the bastards of Milovan Đilas".[21] The Serbian Orthodox Church actively criticises the existence of Montenegrin language, calling it artificial.[22]

References

  1. ^ "Portal Analitika - najvažnije vijesti iz Crne Gore i svijeta". Portal Analitika. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  2. ^ Biljana Papović; Milica Kovačević (February 2021). "Rast desničarskog ekstremizma u Crnoj Gori: Građanska država na ispitu" (PDF). cdtmn.org. Podgorica. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. ^ Stupar, Dalibor (4 July 2021). "Opasno državno negiranje Crnogoraca". Vojvođanski istraživačko-analitički centar "VOICE" (in Serbian). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  4. ^ Standard (4 July 2021). "Negiranje nacije: Više od polovine građana Srbije smatra da Crnogorci ne postoje". Standard (in Bosnian). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  5. ^ Littlefield, Walter (16 April 1922). "ANNIHILATION OF A NATION; Montenegrins' Effort to Prevent Annexation of Their Country to Serbia--Reparations Commission Doesn't Know to Whom to Pay $2,000,000 Collected for Montenegro". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Crnogorci su po narodnosti Srbi, a crnogorske narodnosti ne postoji" [Montenegrins are by nationality Serbs, and the Montenegrin nationality doesn't exist]. IN4S (in Serbian). 6 February 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Bokan: Crnogorci su Srbi; srbomrzačko "crnogorstvo" je nepojamni idiotluk" [Bokan: Montenegrins are Serbs; Serb-hating "Montenegrism" is idiotic]. IN4S (in Serbian). 17 January 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  8. ^ Tomović, Predrag (12 February 2020). "Zakon o vjeroispovijesti na talasu lažnih vijesti". Radio Slobodna Evropa.
  9. ^ Team, D. F. C. (18 February 2020). "Montenegro's information environment through history".
  10. ^ Government of Montenegro. "Response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning the adoption of the Declaration on Protection of Serbian Orthodox Church's rights in Montenegro by the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska". Gov.me. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Stanivuković: Crnogorac kao nacija, mislim da je to izmišljeno" [Stanivuković: Montenegrin as a nation, I think that's made up]. Vijesti (in Montenegrin). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Stanivuković: Crnogorci su Srbi, referendum 2006. je bio lažan!" [Stanivuković: Montenegrins are Serbs, the 2006 referendum was fake!]. Borba (in Montenegrin). 17 August 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Minister Loncar says he tries not to have any Montenegrins as directors in healthcare". Telegraf.rs. 7 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Scandalous allegations in textbooks that the Montenegrin language does not exist". Danas (in Serbian). 13 October 2021.
  15. ^ Tanjug. "Crnogorci traže povlačenje udžbenika istorije u Srbiji". Politika Online. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Ministarstvo vanjskih poslova traži brisanje spornih djelova iz udžbenika istorije - CdM". www.cdm.me. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  17. ^ Janković, Srđan (31 January 2022). "Sukobljene strane u Crnoj Gori traže podršku SPC". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  18. ^ Janković, Srđan (25 September 2020). "SPC u centru političkih dogovora u Crnoj Gori". Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Stradner: Beograd kroz SPC raspiruje tenzije i podriva crnogorski identitet". Glas Amerike (in Serbian). 6 September 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Delegacija EU u Crnoj Gori: Crkva da se ne miješa u poslove Vlade". vijesti.me (in Serbian). Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  21. ^ Jovićević, Dimitrije; Komnenić, Petar (5 February 2010). "Patrijarh negira crnogorsku naciju". Radio Slobodna Evropa.
  22. ^ "Amfilohije: Čirgilica ubija duhovno biće Crne Gore". Blic.rs. 26 November 2015.
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