Monthly Monitoring Highlights September: Ethnic and religious divisions alongside sexism in the Western Balkans

During September, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fueled by religious and ethnic discrimination and sexism.

Religious discrimination in Montenegro

On the 4^th of September, portal Borba published an article from the unregistered portal Srpska 24, titled ‘Concert for Nermin – Islamization of Podgorica’, in which ethnic and national insults were directed at Nermin Abdić, the candidate of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) for mayor of Podgorica in the upcoming local elections. The text claimed Abdić is unfit to be a mayor of all citizens of Podgorica because he is Muslim. Additionally, the article contained hate speech and discriminatory views against Muslims and, in general, against religious and national minorities in Montenegro.

Montenegro is an ethnically and religiously pluralistic society. Articles and content such as the piece by portal Borba only serve to further divide communities and spread hate against one another. Islamophobia and hate towards others on religious grounds is never acceptable.

Sexism in Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia

In the Serbian Parliament, when a female opposition MP questioned him about his expensive car, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin deflected the criticism by moving the attention to his admiration for women. Instead of addressing the critique, he chose to trivialise the situation by talking about women as objects of desire and to say that “no one should argue with women”.

This cynical speech only underlined how women are constantly put in a position of ridicule by their male colleagues. Deputy Prime Minister Vulin used his platform and influence to redirect the discussion towards belittling women and highlighting their traditional gender role of merely being pretty and not being taken seriously. By saying “you should never argue with women” he avoided answering her accusation, discrediting her based on her gender, and undermining her role as an opposition MP. During the rest of the debate, opposition MPs made more sexist remarks. Zoran Lutovac commented on Ana Brnabić’s sexuality, and Zdravko Ponoš told Minister Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski to “go make lunch” and “put up curtains,” for which he was fined.

Aleksandar Vulin’s sexist remarks could have been appropriately condemned by fellow MPs. Instead, they escalated the rhetoric with similar comments, turning the debate into a battleground at the expense of women. Such behavior should not be tolerated—there is no place for sexism, whether in political arenas or elsewhere.

In Albania, during a segment on Ftesë në 5 on Top Channel, a panelist referred to Georgina Rodriguez’s clothing as “prostitute clothing”. Only one other panelist objected to the comment, while the host remained silent. The panel discussion centered on Rodriguez’s fashion choices, but it quickly escalated when one panelist made a derogatory remark. The show’s failure to immediately address or condemn the comment raises concerns about the normalisation of harmful language. Top Channel’s coverage of this case focused more on the offensive remark rather than condemning it – using such remarks to capture viewers’ attention, rather than addressing sexism and educating its audiences about its harmful effects.

The unchecked use of sexist remarks and derogatory language, both online and offline, can lead to their normalisation, making such behavior appear justified and acceptable. In moments like these, media outlets like Top Channel who have a large viewership and popularity in Albania should use their platform to counter instances of sexism, especially when spread on air on their platforms. It is both their role and duty.

In North Macedonia, during an interview on ATV, Adelina Tahiri – a popular Albanian signer – spoke about her life, her husband and his child. Tahiri is married to a Macedonian which was utilised to spread a lot of hate against her on social media and in the comments section. Despite not saying anything provocative during her interview, Tahiri was nevertheless attacked on the basis of who she is married to and indeed, his ethnicity.

North Macedonia is an ethnically diverse country, home to both large Macedonian and Albanian communities. However, deep divisions and ongoing hate speech between these two groups persist. Incidents like these highlight how ethnic tensions are intensified, as some individuals seize moments like these to spread hate based on ethnicity.

Ethnic discrimination in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, specifically in the entity of Republika Srpska, a new addition to the school curriculum was decided on. As a result of this decision, students will be able to learn and explain the importance of the creation of the Army of Republika Srpska. They will also be able to list the most important war operations and goals, structure, and names of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Republika Srpska alongside names such as Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladić, Momir Talić and Novica Simić, who will be labelled ‘war heroes’.

Many media in the country reported on this new addition to the school curriculum including portal Klix.ba resulting in many reactions. In addition to the information about the new curriculum in Republika Srpska, Klix also reported on the background of the entire case, i.e. the article emphasised that almost the whole leadership that managed the Army of Republika Srpska was convicted of war crimes. It also added that the importance of the judgments of international and domestic courts for war crimes is not recognised in the curriculum, nor is the suffering of other people, or crimes such as the genocide in Srebrenica. Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić were sentenced to life imprisonment, among other things, for genocide. Momir Talić was accused of genocide but died before the verdict was passed. Klix emphasised that the High Representative Christian Schmidt not only has the right and power but also the obligation to take action in such matters because learning based on historical revisionism are what can truly threaten the foundations of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Due to the organisation of the state, Klix pointed out that Schmidt is the only one who has the power to stop the destruction of future generations in Republika Srpska who are at risk of learning history that does not promote humanitarian values but glorifies those responsible for some of the worst crimes in Europe after the Second World War.

Alongside this, a popular travel blogger in Bosnia and Herzegovina Robert Dacešin, who is from Banja Luka, published a post on his social media platforms about the new textbooks in Republika Srpska and allegations that war criminals Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić will be mentioned as heroes. His post resulted in numerous insults being directed towards him, with some calling him derogatory names and some even cursing him. Some commented that they would no longer follow him on social media and that he should have mentioned the Serbian victims, accusing him of being one-sided, given that he mentioned victims in Srebrenica in that post. People like Dacešin, who voice their opposition to such actions as those taken in Republika Srpska, are often scrutinised for it by their own community and portrayed as “traitors”.

Following his post, ATV, a television station in Republika Srpska, released a statement saying it  was “shocked by the statements and attitudes of the travel writer from Banja Luka” and that is has decided to end cooperation and broadcasting of his series.

Politicians from Republika Srpska often deny or relativise the genocide in Srebrenica. Media from the entity also play a key role in shaping attitudes about the genocide in Srebrenica among citizens, as shown by a report of the Srebrenica Memorial Center.

In Kosovo, tensions have escalated in the north of the country between the Albanian and Serb communities. “Homeland associations” from northern Kosovo blocked four border crossings with Serbia and Montenegro, leading Kosovan authorities to shut them down due to the presence of masked individuals. Foreign Minister Donika Gërvalla warned that borders would remain closed until these individuals withdrew, calling on NATO to prevent Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić from escalating tensions. Despite this, the crossings reopened within 24 hours.

Kosovo’s government has recently intervened in the Serb-majority north, closing parallel Serbian institutions, banning the Serbian dinar, and pushing to reopen the Ibar River bridge, which is currently dividing Albanian and Serbian communities in North Mitrovica. These actions have heightened tensions, leading to the blockades.

During a visit by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to North Mitrovica, Aleksandar Arsenijević, leader of the Serbian Democracy party, and Vice President of the party Ivan Orlović were arrested for protesting the government’s policies. Their detention, along with that of a group of young Serbian men, who were arrested the night before for, according to the police, insulting and attacking two policemen, sparked further protests and condemnation from analysts and opposition figures, who criticized Kosovo’s violation of basic human rights.

Almost little to no Serbian media covered the recent events in Kosovo and the ongoing relations between the two countries. Indeed, the media that did cover the events – Kosovo media outlets in Serbian and Albanian language, resulted in a great number of hateful comments along ethnic lines – something which is very commonly seen in cases like these. It is the media’s responsibility and duty to monitor their comment section and ensure that hate is not spread on their platforms.