3 Seas Institute for Public History

Association with genocide deniers is at odds with Djokovic’s humanitarian work

Last week Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic (also written “Đoković”) was involved in another controversy over his ties to Serb extremists. Bosnian media outlet Faktor.ba reported that during a visit to the country, Djokovic was seen in the company of both Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and Milan Jolović, the former commander of one of the most notorious units of the Republika Srpska rebel army—the Drina Wolves.

As the Bosnian news article notes, the Drina Wolves took part in the final attack on Srebrenica in July 1995 and were responsible for capturing the fleeing Bosniak civilians and bringing them to the various execution sites after the fall of the city. 

The footage above, taken during the attack on Srebrenica shows Jolović leading one of the final attacks on the enclave. Footage on Twitter, below, shows Jolović and his men in the company of the notorious Greek Volunteer Guard, comprising members of the far-right Golden Dawn and other Greek extremists. This group was stationed in eastern Bosnia and fought alongside the Republika Srpska army, including taking part in the attack on Srebrenica.

During his stay in Bosnia, Djokovic also met with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, arguably one of the most fervent genocide deniers, secessionists and Serb nationalists in the region. Aside from obstructing the work of the country’s institutions and promoting war criminals, Dodik’s government has poured millions into shady NGOs that deny the established facts of the genocide in Srebrenica.

In July, when the outgoing EU high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Valentin Inzko introduced an amendment to the country’s criminal code, making war crimes and genocide denial a punishable offense, Dodik called for the dissolution of the country. Since then he has often repeated the claim that there was no genocide in Srebrenica. Dodik has so far enjoyed impunity, and has not been questioned by the public prosecutors, even though nine NGOs and individuals have filed charges against him.

This is not the first time Djokovic (nicknamed “Nole”) has caused controversy by endorsing deeply problematic Serb nationalist figures. Last year, he was photographed with a type of brandy named “Draža,” after the notorious Second World War Chetnik leader and Nazi collaborator, Dragoljub “Draža” Mihailović.  Besides the well-documented genocidal campaign against Bosniaks in eastern Bosnia and Sandžak and war crimes against captured antifascist Partisans, the Chetniks also committed numerous atrocities against Croats, Jews, and other Serbs.

Again naïve fans benevolently comment that Nole didn’t need to do this. I don’t want to rain on your parade, but I think that he needed that, otherwise he would have just refused to pose with chetnik brandy.

Quasi-science and quackery links

It’s possible that lack of scientific education during his formative years—which he spent perfecting his tennis skills—and his susceptibility to emotional appeals by family, friends and hosts who welcome him to their homes, make Djokovic susceptible to dubious influences.

He is also on record promoting the works of quasi-scientific and ultra-nationalist pseudo-historians and conspiracy theorists Jovan Deretić and Milan Vidojević. Djokovic used his wife’s Instagram account to show his admiration for Deretić and his alternative histories, including a well-known Serb nationalist trope that Serbs are an ancient, “heavenly people” (nebeski narod).

The scientific community underestimated the impact of such claims about the historical, ethnic and religious supremacy of Serbs when Deretić started publishing them during the 1980s. Even though such “theories” were satirized, for instance, through the popular theatre play Chauvinistic Farce, they gained wide acceptance among the less educated Serbian population, inspiring ideologies that justified the mass atrocities during the violent breakup of Yugoslavia 10 years later. 

Amateur digging and construction of the government-supported tourist complex based on the “Bosnian pyramids” hoax might have damaged genuine archeological and paleontological sites around Visoko in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo by Wikipedia user TheBIHLover, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Another reason for Djokovic’s visit to BiH was the sprawling “Bosnian Pyramids” compound in Visoko, so becoming its most famous promoter and most frequent celebrity visitor. Run by a Bosnian-American businessman and quasi-archeologist Semir Osmanagić, the “Bosnian Pyramids of the Sun” complex has become a major tourist attraction, and while it’s clear that the site is of some importance when it comes to archeology, Osmanagić’s claim of it being the seat of the largest and most ancient human-made pyramids has been debunked by experts. 

Osmanagić has since changed his sales pitch, claiming that the compound is a place for natural healing and regenerating. Speaking about Djokovic’s most recent visit, he said that the long network of tunnels his team has excavated have regenerative characteristics, “cleansing out viruses and bacteria.”

Osmanagić has also used his clout and popularity to engage in conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 pandemic on his YouTube channel, as documented by the fact-checkers from Raskrinkavanje.ba.

While not openly endorsing anti-vaccine sentiment, Djokovic advocated against mandatory vaccinations after he was infected with COVID-19 in June 2020 at a controversial exhibition tournament he organized in Croatia. The event allegedly included parties that defied anti-pandemic measures recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Opportunities for transcendence

While over the years Djokovic and his father have been vocally supporting hardline Serbian positions against Kosovo independence, he has also shown that he can transcend the pull of Serbian nationalism. He has often advocated reconciliation between the Serbs and Croats, standing up to antagonistic nationalism that caused enormous human suffering during the 1990’s wars.

When in 2008 a French newscaster mistakenly labeled him as a Croat, the Serbian tennis champ said in a statement for Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list that he didn’t mind. He has often repeated that the two peoples are very similar, “almost the same” and that it’s understandable that “foreigners” can’t tell them apart.

Many people in the Balkans idolize Djokovic because he matches his athletics accomplishments with philanthropy,  funding humanitarian causes through his considerable wealth. On his website, he describes himself as a “holist,” meaning someone applying a holistic approach to life. Increasing his critical thinking skills when it comes to science-related issues and history and expanding the range of his empathy to all Balkan peoples who have suffered from hardline extremists would be welcome. Sadly, as things stand now, his embrace of conspiracy theories, revisionist history, quack medicine and his habit of socializing with Serb extremists undermine his positive efforts.

Developments in the small Balkan state of Montenegro are a signifier of creeping fascism across the wider region, orchestrated by the pro-Putin Vučić regime in Belgrade but largely ignored by European governments.

The General Election on August 30th 2020 was seen by the international community as a victory for democracy when the ruling coalition of Social Democrats and Democratic Socialists lost power after nearly 30 years. A 70% turnout in the middle of a pandemic resulted in a relationship between a new right-wing, populist, pro-Serb coalition government and the sitting Democratic Socialist President without tensions or violence. This was the narrative promoted by the EU and wider international community. 

One year on and nothing could be further from the truth, with the new government undermining civil society and the multicultural and multi-confessional essence of Montenegro on a daily basis. The influence of clerical fascism from the hard-line Serb Orthodox Church (SOC) permeates every level of government, including the appointment of Zdravko Krivokapić as Prime Minister. Seasoned observers living in the Balkans warned of dangers in late 2019 when the SOC openly took a political position by attacking the then progressive government. The implementation of the ‘Freedom of Religion’ law in early 2020 was weaponised by the SOC, who viewed it as a declaration of hatred and oppression. In fact the new ‘law’ was viewed as a positive development by the Venice Commission. It brought the SOC in line with other religions in Montenegro, decreeing that all religious institutions would be seen as equal, must register ownership of property and land, and would be subjected to relevant taxes and obligations to the state.

For a century the SOC had avoided paying taxes and refused to prove or register ownership of churches it stole in 1919 when it subjugated the Montenegro Churches and took over their ownership. This was a year after the Kingdom of Montenegro was subsumed into the Kingdom of Serbia/Slovenes and Croats at the end of WW1. In the months prior to the 2020 election the SOC organised huge demonstrations for its followers, effectively advising its flock to vote ‘For the Future of Montenegro’, a coalition of pro-Serb parties who intended to roll back the progress on independence which has been in process since a referendum in 2006 saw Montenegro break with Serbia.

Coalition partners with ‘The Future of Montenegro’ include the Democratic Front, whose main party is the PzP led by Nebojša Medojević. In 2019, PzP founded Steve Bannon’s ‘Movement’ with Lega and the Brothers of Italy. A smaller coalition partner is led by URA (United Reform Action), whose leader, Dritan Abazović, is a strong supporter of the Serb Orthodox Church. The main positions in the new government are Prime Minister Krivokapić, a devout follower of the SOC and, as deputy PM, Abazović, who claims that his party are green and grassroots despite being financed by the Vijesti newspaper, which is partially owned by the right-wing Austrian media company Styria. A third important government position is held by Aleksa Bečić, President of Parliament. Bečić’s party is called the Democrats, but he is known to be both pro-Serb and pro-SOC despite rebranding himself in recent years. All of these political appointments were ordered by the late Amfilohije Radović (head of the SOC) before he succumbed to Covid-19. At Radović’s funeral all Covid safety measures were ignored and thousands of mourners, led by Krivokapić, Medojević and Bečić, did not observe social distancing or mask wearing. 

It should be noted that all current ministers are devout followers of the SOC. Vesna Bratić, the minister for education, culture, sport and science, is from Srpska Republic (in Bosnia Herzegovina) and only took Montenegrin citizenship a few years ago. She declared herself to be a Chetnik (who were infamously WW2 Nazi collaborators) and praised the SOC’s role during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. She has fired most directors of education institutes, universities and schools and replaced them with people loyal to the SOC. Bratić is also changing the school curriculum and encouraging the teachings of the SOC doctrines. 

Human rights and civil society activists have been threatened or detained for questioning by the police, and right-wing news portals such as In4S (a radical Serb outfit) make death threats to anyone asking questions of the government. Vile anti-Montenegrin graffiti has become so commonplace that the media no longer reports it. Many NGOs say nothing about what the government is doing, although criticism of the last administration was frequent and public. President Vučić of Serbia has often spoken publicly about a ‘Serb World’ – a triangle of Banja Luka (Srbska Republic), Podgorica (Montenegro) and Belgrade (Serbia ) – where Serbs will be ‘protected’. This is reminiscent of Milošević’s chilling ideal of the 1990s.

The international community is either guilty of turning a blind eye to recent developments or is ignorant of the facts. Montenegro was far from perfect under the last regime, but it did stay true to its multi-ethnic, secular anti-fascist principals. The most important national day is July 13th when, in 1878, the Berlin Congress recognised Montenegro as a sovereign state. It also marks the beginning of the People’s Partisan Uprising against the Nazi occupiers in 1941. At this year’s 80th anniversary of that uprising, President Milo Đukanović addressed a huge crowd of thousands of people including foreign dignitaries – and not a single government official took part. History may be in the process of being rewritten along with a repeat of the ethnic violence that led to unspeakable crimes against humanity.