Podgorica, (MINA) – The state is not defended through political statements, but through institutions that have a legal obligation to protect citizens of Montenegro, in accordance with European standards, Minister of Culture and Media Tamara Vujovic said, adding that she condemns media content containing elements of hate speech, intolerance and discrimination against the Montenegrin identity. 

Vujovic made this remark in the parliament, responding to the question from Democratic Party of Socialists MP Jevto Erakovic who asked whether the silence of the Ministry of Culture and the Media regarding the broadcast of documentary “Referendum – A Story of False Freedom”, which questions the legitimacy of Montenegro’s 2006 referendum, means that the Government does not have a problem with such a narrative or lacks the courage to condemn it, as well as to give her position on the film “Montenegro and Serbia – A Separated Family” produced by the Radio and Television of Serbia.

“Of course, I condemn this kind of media content. Both productions manipulate facts and selective interpretat historical events in order to shape the perception of viewers, in accordance with aa predetermined political narrative”, Vujovic said.

According to her, both films have a propaganda-driven and interpretive character aimed at conveying political messages and contain unacceptable elements under the Law on Audiovisual Media Services.

Vujovic pointed out that the state is not defended through political statements, but institutions that have a legal obligation to react in accordance with European standards.

She said that immediate public reactions of the Government and the Ministry of Culture and Media are not necessary when competent institutions act within their powers.

Vujovic also stressed that “the collective delegitimization of the Montenegrin national identity through claims that it is a fictitious or inauthentic is unacceptable”, adding that the segment concerning the women of Cetinje is a “textbook example of brutal stigmatization, misogyny and historical revisionism”.