FLASH
Shkruar nga Gjergj Zefi
Nationalist propaganda from circles close to power in Belgrade revives the dangerous rhetoric of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, targeting Montenegro and once again alarming the Balkans for the return of the destabilizing policies of the 1990s...
The Balkans are once again entering a dangerous phase of political and identity tension, not because of any spontaneous conflict between peoples, but as a result of the return of a political language that the European continent thought it had buried with the bloody wars of the 1990s. The propaganda documentary produced by organizations close to the government in Belgrade, which questions the independence of Montenegro and articulates threatening messages such as "we will come back again", is not simply a peripheral media product. It is a political signal. A coded message for the region. Proof that Aleksandar Vučić's Serbia has not given up on the idea of strategic dominance in the Western Balkans.
On the surface, Belgrade is trying to maintain the facade of a state that negotiates with the European Union, talks about regional stability and promotes economic integration. But behind this diplomatic facade, an ideological apparatus continues to survive that feeds on historical revenge, emotional nationalism and identity propaganda. The documentary broadcast on Serbian and Montenegrin television does not only aim to relativize the 2006 referendum in Montenegro; it attempts to delegitimize the very political existence of the Montenegrin state. And this is extremely dangerous.
In the Balkan region, history has shown that crises do not begin with tanks, but with narrative. They begin with propaganda films, with collective victimization, with historical claims, with nationalist slogans, and with the production of the idea that current borders are temporary.
This is exactly how the violent disintegration of the former Yugoslavia began. First came propaganda. Then hatred. Then conflict.
Today, official Serbia tries to present itself as a factor of stability, but at the same time tolerates and in many cases inspires propaganda structures that produce tensions with its neighbors. This is Aleksandar Vučić's double strategy: before Brussels he talks about peace, while for domestic consumption he allows the return of the myths of the "lost Serbia", the "Serbian world" and historical injustices against the Serbian nation. It is a dangerous game that increasingly resembles the Russian model of using cultural propaganda as an instrument of geopolitical pressure.
The message “we will return again” is not an artistic metaphor. It is political language with a clear territorial and identity charge. In a region where the wounds of Srebrenica, Kosovo and ethnic wars have not yet healed, such statements cannot be relativized as patriotic rhetoric. They produce fear, destabilize interethnic relations and feed extremist groups that continue to dream of the return of failed hegemonic projects.
Montenegro is today the most sensitive target of this strategy, because it represents a state that has clearly chosen a Euro-Atlantic orientation, NATO membership and gradual distancing from Serbian-Russian influence. The attack on Montenegrin identity is not just a cultural conflict; it is an attempt to weaken a state that is considered lost from Belgrade's traditional orbit. It is precisely for this reason that propaganda against Podgorica is intensifying at a time when Montenegro is getting closer to the European Union.
But the problem is not limited to Montenegro. What is happening is part of a broader regional picture. In Bosnia, Milorad Dodik continues to threaten the institutional integrity of the state. In Kosovo, Serbia continues its diplomatic campaign for de-recognition and uses tensions in the north as an instrument of pressure. In Montenegro, identity propaganda is used. All of these are not isolated episodes. They are part of a coordinated strategy to maintain Serbian influence in the Balkans through permanent destabilization.
In this context, the silence of the European Union becomes increasingly problematic. Brussels continues to invest in the idea that Vučić is the “guarantee of stability”, while the reality on the ground shows the opposite. Stability is not built by tolerating aggressive nationalism, nor by turning a blind eye to propaganda that challenges the sovereignty of neighboring states. European history has shown that flirting with nationalist autocrats can produce catastrophic consequences.
Aleksandar Vučić is trying to play the role of a pragmatic leader on the international stage, but the shadow of the politics of the 1990s continues to haunt Serbia. Whenever the economy weakens, whenever social discontent or international pressure increases, nationalism returns as an instrument of political mobilization. It is the classic formula of populist powers in the Balkans: produce an identity crisis in order to survive politically.
The region does not need the return of the ghosts of the past. The Balkans need real reconciliation, respect for borders, European integration and an end to ethnic propaganda. Any attempt to reopen historical wounds in the name of nationalist projects is not only a threat to Serbia's neighbors, but a danger to European peace itself. And this is precisely where the biggest alarm lies: the ghosts of the '90s are not returning by chance. They are returning because someone in Belgrade continues to believe that history can once again be used as a political weapon. / Pamphlet
Keta sllavet vetem bari i miut i gdhend. Kane zhyer me Amerike, me Europe e jane si kolera.
pritet te reagojne censurojne e bojkotojne gjeresisht organizata nderkombetare