Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 10/2/2025; Author: Darvin Murić
The genocide in Srebrenica is probably the topic most frequently manipulated in our linguistic area, whether it is about denying what happened in that city in July 1995, or about certain media trying to shift the blame for it onto politicians by collective responsibility.
An example of this is the article published by the Alo online portal, an extension of the Serbian tabloid Alo, which dealt with the recent statements of the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajic, about Srebrenica.
This portal manipulatively interpreted Spajic’s statement for the Bosnian-Herzegovinian television Hayat and published an article titled:
“In whose name and for whose benefit does Prime Minister Milojko Spajic claim that Serbs committed genocide in Srebrenica.”
These claims became viral on social media (1,2,3,4,5,6,7).
The statement of Prime Minister Spajic in the text was correctly conveyed, meaning the Prime Minister was accurately and precisely quoted.
However, it is not true that Spajic at any point blamed Serbs for the genocide in Srebrenica, even though he said that the stance of the state of Montenegro is clear – that genocide occurred in Srebrenica. On the contrary, he emphasized in the interview that no nation is genocidal.
“I have no problem with recognizing genocide. The stance of the state of Montenegro is clear. The Parliament has adopted the Resolution twice. We supported the Resolution in the UN. No nation is genocidal. It is individuals who committed these acts and they must be held accountable. We must look into the past and condemn things from the past so that we do not carry the burden on our shoulders. Without historical burdens, we can step forward,” Spajic said.
So – not a mention that Serbs committed genocide.
The narrative that Alo online is trying to present to the public is not new and periodically repeats. It was relevant when the Montenegrin parliament adopted the Resolution on the Genocide in Srebrenica, and it culminated when the United Nations General Assembly was about to vote on the Resolution on the Day of Remembrance of the Srebrenica Genocide. During that time, similar articles attacked President Jakov Milatovic, and President of the Democrats Aleksa Becic, while the narrative about declaring Serbs a genocidal nation was repeatedly and repeatedly spread by portals that deny genocide.
Let us remind you that neither resolution, the one from the UN nor the one from the Montenegrin Parliament, assigns guilt for genocide to Serbs. Neither Milatovic, Becic, nor many others against whom this false narrative was directed did so.
Moreover, in the Resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly, it states:
“Reiterating that criminal accountability under international law for the crime of genocide is individualized and cannot be attributed to any ethnic, religious, or other group or community as a whole.”
The one adopted in the Montenegrin Parliament:
“…condemns attempts to assign responsibility or blame for genocide, crimes against humanity, or other crimes to the Serbian, Bosniak, Croatian, or any other nation, as responsibility can only be individual, and no nation can be labeled as genocidal or criminal.”.
Given that, Spajic did not say that Serbs committed genocide, the article published by the Alo online is rated as fake news.
The “Fake news” rating is given to an original media report (completely produced by the media that
published it) that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake
news can be reliably determined to have been created and disseminated with the intent to misinform the public, that is, to present a completely false claim as fact.
