Strong institutions are crucial in protecting citizens from all forms of extremism

Pro-Russian right extremist groups, as well as pro-Serbian ones, are an important segment of Russian malign influence in Montenegro, said Digital Forensic Center analyst Marko Banović at the conference Far-right Extremism in the Balkans: Groups, Trends and Political Support organized by BIRN.

At the panel entitled Extreme right groups in the region: Trends and security issues, Banović presented the key findings of the recently published DFC analysis Who governs our extreme right wing? highlighting the political support of the authorities that extremist groups have in Montenegro.

The ideology of extremist groups in Montenegro is summed up in the homogenization of the Serbian people in Serbia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Montenegro, intolerance towards citizens of other nationalities and religions, historical revisionism and disinformation, glorification of war criminals from the Second World War and wars from the 90s, uncritical glorification of Orthodoxy in the interpretation of the Serbian and Russian Orthodox Churches, as well as intolerance towards the LGBT population, Banović said.

The DFC analyst talked about four trends that can be observed when it comes to the extreme right in Montenegro. A clear trend can be observed that the Serbian Orthodox Church is a patron in the establishment and operation of both pro-Russian and pro-Serbian groups, said Banović.

Another trend that can be observed is the political connection of extremist groups, primarily the pro-Russian and pro-Serbian Democratic Front. He also pointed out the presence of the Prime Minister in the technical mandate of Dritan Abazović at one of the gatherings of extremist groups, adding that the worst insults could be heard from that gathering, the glorification of Russian aggression and that only a few days before that group had protested in support of Russian aggression to Ukraine.

Banović said that members of the extreme right are often persons of security interest, and some have been convicted of the most serious crimes. He added that the trend of support of those groups for Russian aggression is indicated.

The DFC analyst pointed out that the activities of extremist groups represent a threat to security on three levels, national, regional, and global. When you have ideologies based on intolerance in a multi-national and multi-religious country like Montenegro, it directly affects the security and stability of society, he said.

Answering the question of whether Russia’s failure in Ukraine will affect the actions of these groups, Banović said that he expects that in that case, their actions will only strengthen, because, as he said, they are based on disinformation and propaganda from official Moscow.

Banović concluded that the problem is that the countries of the Western Balkans do not have strong institutions that are crucial in protecting citizens from these negative phenomena.