Original article (in Montenegro) was published on 6/8/2025; Author: Darvin Murić
The authorities in Serbia have been facing protests by students and other groups of citizens for some time now, while tabloids that support the authorities are trying to use every opportunity to discredit those who protest – primarily students.
This time, for the purpose of discreditation, a statement issued by student groups from Nis on the occasion of marking the 30th anniversary of “Operation Storm” is being used.
Tabloids from Serbia, but also from Montenegro, that support the rule of Aleksandar Vucic published the identical headline:
“Blockaders declared that Serbs themselves are to blame for ‘Operation Storm.’”
The text was first published in Politika, and was also published without changes by B92 and Borba.
They refer to the statement conveyed by Danas, and claim that
“the blockaders at no point condemned the crimes committed against Serbian civilians by the Croatian army. They are even ‘full of understanding’ for the Croats, because the killing of Serbs occurred after we were ‘pushed against each other by those who were sitting in comfortable armchairs, with pockets full of bloody money.’”
In the statement issued by the students from Nis, nowhere are Serbs blamed for “Operation Storm,” nor is there any “full understanding” expressed for the Croats, while the crimes in “Operation Storm” committed against Serbian victims are clearly condemned.
“One of the most monstrous fruits of such politics is the crime that began on this day thirty years ago – ‘Operation Storm,’” the students stated in the announcement – in other words – they call “Operation Storm” a crime and one of the most monstrous fruits of the politics of those who “pushed us against each other, they sat in comfortable armchairs, with pockets full of bloody money.”
“From their armchairs, commands for death, expulsion and destruction were born, and their bank accounts grew proportionally to the number of killed and expelled,” the statement reads.
The students clearly state in the announcement that the peoples, Croatian and Serbian, did not inflict pain, sorrow and thousands of victims upon each other, but emphasize that it was the politicians who did so.
“Pain, sorrow and thousands of lost lives were not inflicted upon us by the peoples, but by those who called themselves leaders – the politicians. The very same ones who today, three decades later, continue to poison the peoples, to incite hatred and divisions, because chaos is their only way to stay in power. Our message is clear: those people must disappear from the political map of the Balkans. Only then will we have a chance to live in true peace,” the statement says and adds:
“We do not divide them into ‘Croatian’ and ‘Serbian,’ because they are guilty. They did not fight for their peoples, but for their own interests. While people were dying, they were trading in death. While they were pushing us against each other, they were sitting in comfortable armchairs, with pockets full of bloody money. From their armchairs commands for death, expulsion and destruction were born, and their bank accounts grew proportionally to the number of killed and expelled.”
The students further cite a sentence that is publicly attributed to the former President of Croatia Franjo Tudjman – “Let us deliver such blows that the Serbs practically disappear!”, adding that his party still rules in Croatia today.
They then quote the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic: “Kill one Serb, we will kill one hundred Muslims,” with the note that he is now in power in Serbia.
“War is the greatest evil. Such crimes must never be forgotten, but we must not hate the new generations. They are not guilty. On the contrary, we must understand each other, support each other, and eradicate hatred. We are not and must not be enemies to one another. The cause of our suffering are precisely those who most promote hatred, which they use to provoke divisions among us,” the statement said, adding that this is precisely why they are fighting for peace to prevail once and for all, as “the strongest response to every piece of their hatred.”
Thus – no mention that Serbs are to blame for “Operation Storm,” but rather calls for peace, condemnation of all crimes, and ending the practice of attributing crimes to the peoples who participated in the wars.
Because of this, the publication is rated as disinformation.
The “Disinformation” rating is given to media reports that contain a “mix” of facts and inaccurate or partially true content. In such cases, media outlets may not necessarily be aware of the inaccurate information published alongside accurate details. Additionally, this rating will also apply to reports with false attributions or headlines that do not accurately reflect the content in terms of factual correctness.
