Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 05/12/2023; Author: Nina Đuranović
The national census in Montenegro kicked off on Sunday, December 3. With its commencement, there has been a noticeable uptick in the spread of inaccurate and misleading information by various regional media outlets.
Online portals such as Danas, Kurir.rs, Pink.rs, Nedeljnik, Srpska dijaspora, PostInfo, Hayat.ba, Vitez.ba have been circulating reports suggesting that the Serbian language might be reintroduced into Montenegro’s school curriculum and official use following the census.
According to the articles on these online portals, “Montenegrin officials have stated that if the census will show that more than 50 percent of the population will identify as Serbian speakers. This might lead to the reintroduction of the Serbian language in schools and for official purposes in the nation.”
The articles in question fail to provide any sources for their claims.
The speculation began to circulate following a statement by Andrija Mandic, the President of Montenegro’s Parliament and a leader of the New Serbian Democracy political party. In response to a query from Serbian media about the possibility of constitutional changes that would grant official status to the Serbian language after the census, Mandic said:
“Even under the previous regime’s census, the majority of citizens identified as Serbian speakers. I believe that after this census, we’ll start a dialogue in Parliament that could lead to such an outcome. As a political representative of the Serbian community, I am certainly in favor of ensuring that the majority’s preference is reflected in our country’s most important legal document.”
However, it’s important to note that Mandic’s statement did not specifically address the official use of the Serbian language, which is a separate matter altogether.
The reports from these media outlets are misleading and inaccurate, primarily because the Serbian language has already been a part of the educational curriculum in both primary and secondary schools since Montenegro regained its independence.
In the current educational system, the subject known as Montenegrin-Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Language, and Literature is a compulsory course in schools.
In this context, it is also significant to draw attention to the highest legal act in Montenegro, which also stands opposed to the claims of regional media.
The Constitution of Montenegro already recognizes the Serbian language as being in official use since its adoption.
Article 13 of the Constitution of Montenegro reads as follows: ‘The official language in Montenegro is the Montenegrin language. Both Cyrillic and Latin scripts are equally used. Serbian, Bosnian, Albanian, and Croatian languages are also in official use.'”
This means that regardless of the census outcomes, the assertion by some media outlets that the Serbian language is “returning to schools and official use in Montenegro” is incorrect. The Serbian language is already integrated into the school curriculum, and the Constitution permits its use by the citizens of Montenegro.
The features in question are rated as disinformation.
The “Misinformation” rating is given to a media report that contains a “mix” of facts and incorrect or half-true content. In such cases, the media may not necessarily be aware of incorrect information being published alongside the true ones. Also, this grade will be given to media reports with false attributions or titles that do not reflect the text in terms of information accuracy.