DISINFORMATION CASE DETAILS
- Outlet: Sputnik Serbia - Latin ( archive, original ) , vidovdan.org ( archive, original ) , b1info.ba ( archive, original ) , Tanjug ( archive, original ) , politika.rs ( archive, original ) , Republika ( archive, original ) , Krstarica ( archive, original ) , Vesti online ( archive, original ) , Srbin info ( archive, original ) , pravda.rs ( archive, original ) , dnevnik.rs ( archive, original ) , nacionalist.rs ( archive, original ) , B92 ( archive, original ) , iskra.co ( archive, original ) , Radio Televizija Republike Srpske ( archive, original ) , dan.co.me ( archive, original )
- Date of publication: August 28, 2019
- Countries / regions discussed: Albania, Montenegro
AI translations:
DISINFO: NATO is laying the foundations for Greater Albania by turning Montenegro into its military base
SUMMARY
NATO intends to turn the entire country of Montenegro into its military base by “occupying” locations like Sinjajevina, Andrijevica, Berane and the border of Montenegro. The Municipality of Andrijevica has been deliberately chosen as a location for new NATO military barracks because of its proximity to the Albanian border. That is also the case with the old airport in Berane, which NATO plans to turn into its military base. The citizens of Montenegro need to resist this occupation and militarisation of the country.
RESPONSE
The video clip and accompanying text are a combination of two recurring disinformation narratives: that NATO is building military bases in Montenegro, which is therefore being “occupied by NATO”; and the narrative about “Greater Albania”, a new state which would supposedly consist of Albania, Kosovo and parts of Montenegro and North Macedonia. NATO has no plans to build a military base in Montenegro, nor has the country's government announced any such plan. Moreover, a source from Montenegro’s Ministry of Defence has recently described the persistent claims about NATO bases as “refuted so many times in the past 10 years, that it’s pointless to even discuss it anymore”. Pro-Kremlin sources in the region tend to attach this claim to any news about building or reconstruction of military objects in Montenegro, especially since the country joined NATO in 2017. This was the case here as well: the military barracks to be built in Andrijevica are not a NATO military base or barracks. In November 2018, the Government of Montenegro passed the Strategic Defence Review of Montenegro, which lists the new barracks in Andrijevica as one of its military infrastructure priorities (document available here). This will be the barracks of the Armed Forces of Montenegro, built in accordance with NATO standards. There is no viable information that Berane is considered for a future military airport, let alone a NATO base, despite the rumours which circulated in similar sources two years ago. The Strategic Defence Review of Montenegro does not mention any plans for military objects in Berane. The claim that such a base will be built in Sinjajevina is also false (see a debunking of that claim by a Montenegrian fact-checker here). Finally, no evidence (or even a reasonable explanation) was given in the article to support the claim that building new military objects in Montenegro was a step towards creating “Greater Albania”.