Original article (in Bosnian) was published on 31/01/2022
Croatian President Zoran Milanovic commented on the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, after which the media incorrectly reported that he said that “Dodik and Putin are spreading ethnic hatred”.
On January 25, 2022, the website of the Tanjug news agency published an article with the following title:
Zoran Milanovic: The Republic of Srpska should have been destroyed militarily
The article reports on the visit of Croatian President Zoran Milanovic to Kras, during which he spoke on several topics. In the article, it is stated that Milanovic said that BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik “spreads ethnic hatred”:
The President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, stated today that the Republic of Srpska “should have been destroyed militarily”, and that Milorad Dodik, the Serbian member of the Presidency of BiH, spreads ethnic hatred, but also that “there are many worse than him”.
This article was subsequently corrected. However, the corrected, currently available version of the article contains contradictory claims – first it is stated that Milanovic said that “Dodik does not spread ethnic hatred”, while in the paragraph below it claims the exact opposite:
“Dodik is not an ethnonationalist, he is not a chauvinist, he does not spread ethnic hatred”, Milanovic said to the press, adding that Dodik is an interlocutor, Hina reports.
[…]
The President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, stated today that the Republic of Srpska “should have been destroyed militarily”, and that Milorad Dodik, the Serbian member of the Presidency of BiH, spreads ethnic hatred, but also that “there are many worse than him”.
You can find the archived version of Tanjug’s original article here.
However, before Tanjug corrected its article, many media outlets reported that Milanovic said Dodik was spreading ethnic hatred.
Some of them, such as the website of Dnevni Avaz, wrote their articles in which they repeated the same statement, and which they pointed out in the title:
Milanovic: RS should have been destroyed militarily, and Dodik and Putin are people who spread ethnic hatred
[…]
He said that neither Milorad Dodik nor Vladimir Putin are ethnonationalists, but that they are people who spread ethnic hatred. He also said that the celebration of RS Day was the worst possible chosen date because it was followed by horrible crimes, reports “Jutarnji list”.
– Neither Dodik nor Putin are ethnonationalists, they are people who spread ethnic hatred.
The same claim was published in articles on the following websites: Vecernje novosti, Blic, B92, Face, Radio Sarajevo, Gradacacki glas, Ilidza grad, Vitez, Kurir, Informer and many others.
What are the facts?
The President of Croatia, Zoran Milanovic, held a press conference after visiting the Kras food factory. The reason for the visit was the 110th anniversary of the company’s existence. Among other things, he spoke at a press conference about the current political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The entire press conference can be viewed on the Facebook page of N1 Croatia, and the moment when Milanovic talks about ethnonationalists starts at 32:17.
Journalist: You said that Mr. Putin is not an ethnonationalist, is Mr. Dodik an ethnonationalist?
Milanović: Neither is he […] Ethnonationalists are people who spread ethnic hatred. I have already said, therefore, the celebration of the day of the Republic of Srpska, it is a very badly chosen date because it will haunt them like a dark shadow, like a marble boulder […]
It is clear from the statement that Milanovic did not say that BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik and Russian President Vladimir Putin are “people who spread ethnic hatred”. Milanovic explicitly said that he does not consider Dodik and Putin ethnonationalists and that ethnonationalists are people who spread hatred.
Tanjug cited the website Jutarnji list as the source. This website also published an article on this topic on January 25. It quoted the same statement by Milanovic, however, although the article does not claim that Milanovic said that “Dodik and Putin are spreading hatred”, the statement is quoted in a way that can be understood in two ways:
‘If there is an escalation in Ukraine, we will withdraw all Croatian soldiers! Frka Peresic? It’s a crime. “
[…]
Milanovic commented on the situation in BiH. Asked if Milorad Dodik was an ethnonationalist, he said:
– Neither Dodik nor Putin are ethnonationalists, those are the people who spread ethnic hatred.
Milanovic’s statement conveyed in this way can be interpreted in two ways: that ethnonationalists are people who spread hatred, but also that Dodik and Putin are the ones who spread ethnic hatred.
However, first Tanjug, and then other media in the region, explicitly stated an incorrect statement in their articles, which Milanovic did not make.
Although Tanjug subsequently partially corrected its article, the incorrect claim remained in the article.
According to the facts, the claim of the Tanjug news agency suggesting that Milanovic said that Dodik and/or Putin spread ethnic hatred is rated as fake news, while the websites that shared the same claim are rated for the distribution of fake news.
