On January 18, 2025, the Serbian media outlet “Sputnik.rs” published an article titled: “Vucic Announced: Western Agencies Are Trying to Stage a Color Revolution in Serbia.”
In the content of this article, the media presented the statement of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, given to “Happy” Television”. In it, Vucic claims that a revolution is being attempted in Serbia and that foreign instructors from the West are behind it. According to him, students, through intermediaries, are receiving instructions on how to block roads. As he continued to blame Western news agencies, he also included Croats and Albanians, without providing any evidence to support this claim. His allegations have also been echoed by Russian media operating in Serbia, such as Sputnik.
“It is a combination of the interests of several Western and regional news agencies, particularly Croats and Albanians from Kosovo,” stated Vucic, without naming any specific media outlet from Kosovo. The protests in Serbia have also sparked interest in Kosovo and have been widely covered by the media. The coverage has mainly focused on the demands of the students toward the Serbian government and the real reasons behind the mass mobilization of the protests.
In the protests that began on November 26, students demanded that responsibility be determined and that those guilty of the accident at the Novi Sad railway station be prosecuted. They also called for the prosecution of those who had attacked students during an action expressing solidarity with the victims and the injured in the Novi Sad train station tragedy, where 15 people lost their lives after a concrete slab collapsed.
In addition to Vucic, other Serbian officials have also linked the protests to Kosovo. The Director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, stated that elements from the state they contest played a role in these protests.
The same approach was taken during the environmental associations’ protests following Serbia’s agreement with the EU to open a lithium mine in the Jadar Valley. Serbia’s top leaders, with unfounded claims, attempted to shift the blame of the protests onto the West. While Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic accused Kosovo of having a hand in organizing the protests, Serbian President Vucic went even further, alleging that the protesters were part of a “hybrid” war supported by the West against the Serbian government. Such statements aim to create confusion among the public and divert political responsibility for the current situation in Serbia.
*This article is published as part of the Western Balkans Regional Initiative against disinformation. “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: exposing malign influences through watchdog journalism.”
