Over the past few weeks, Raskrinkavanje has repeatedly pointed to published lies about refugees currently located in BiH. The latest example of media disinformation is quite extreme.
The massive arrival of Middle Eastern refugees in Bosnia and Herzegovina has shown, from many different levels, a hideous sides of the BiH media system, as well as journalistic practices. The latest example was aired on Sarajevo’s TV1 media outlet, and it was broadcasted in primetime on May 13, 2018, while featuring Goran Kovačević, an associate professor at the Faculty of Criminology and Security Studies, who was interviewed.
In this interview, KovaÄŤević made a whole series of alarming allegations about the number and the origin of the refugees from the Middle East who have been seeking shelter in Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past few weeks. Raskrinvakanje does not address the values of these statements, so the subject of this analysis will not be KovaÄŤević’s vocabulary, which can be qualified almost as hate speech.Â
Raskrinkavanje, however, did check the statements made in the interview, which afterwards experienced a series of transmission on numerous media outlets, and even though stated as opinions, these statements were presented as facts. The interview published on TV1 and the allegations from the interview were presented as factual allegations by Euroblic, Srpskainfo, Insajder, Dnevni avaz, Patria news agency, Informer, Pogled, Balkanxp, and Braniteljski Portal.
In the interview, Kovačević claims that Bosnia and Herzegovina is literally flooded with refugees and that the number of migrants staying in the country is much higher than one might think. Such claims were made on at least two occasions in the interview, presented with different numbers, in both cases mentioning tens of thousands of people:
The number is between 30,000 and 50,000 people that are located in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, so it is not just a few thousands. I do not know why this information is hidden (…) How did 30,000 to 40,000 people enter BiH illegally?
Kovačević did not cite any source for his claims about the number of migrants and refugees. Raskrinkavanje has, thus, contacted Goran Kovačević via his official email, but we did not receive any response by the time this article was published.
However, we did receive a response from the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina which keeps records of the registered number of refugees, or “illegal immigrants”, as they are now called commonly, though inaccurately and incorrectly. The Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, which is the only state agency authorized for this job, replied that 4,113 illegal migrants have been registered since the beginning of the year until mid-May. Although it is possible that some refugees are not registered, it is obvious that the number is nowhere near the tens of thousands mentioned by Kovačević.
Email translation: Respected,
I am sorry that the response is a little bit late. From the beginning of the year until May 18, the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs has processed 4,113 illegal migrants in total.
Best regards!
This exaggeration with the number of refugees and immigrants may suggest an extremely negative attitude towards them, and this became even more evident in the second part of Kovačević’s “presentation”. The claims that he made are not only exaggerated and unverified but also dangerous. Namely, Kovačević again without any evidence claims that refugees are predominantly members of the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIL) and that the influx of Middle Eastern refugees to BiH is actually a broader plan that, as he said in one point, will result in “bombs exploding” across cities in the Federation.
These are mostly ISIL members (…) These people now come here, and they come with a goal, based on the recommendation and the legend that suits them, that Bosnia is the base of ISIL.
Raskrinkavanje contacted SIPA (The State Investigation and Protection Agency) asking whether the state agency had any knowledge about the presence of terrorist organizations among refugees. Here’s is the full answer we received:
We inform you that the State Investigation and Protection Agency does not currently have any information that refugees (immigrants) are the members of any terrorist organization or if any of them is wanted by Interpol.
Of course, there is no security system that is 100 percent immune to terrorism, nor is it possible for every person crossing the border to be checked or identified as a member of a terrorist organization. However, there is a huge difference between the possibility of individual infiltration (which is extremely rare in practice), and the general view that “these are mostly ISIL members”. It is obvious that the institutions responsible for refugee security themselves do not see any terrorist threat, while accusations like these can increasingly be heard from public officials – and each time the claims are not supported with any evidence.
Given the utter ungroundedness of the allegations and attribution of specific events to the existence of a broader, unproven, “terrorist infiltration” plan, we rate these claims as fake news and conspiracy theory, while the media who have shared stated allegations are given the rate of fake news and biased reporting.Â
