The European Western Balkans portal said on Monday that RT Balkan had joined efforts to discredit the ProGlas initiative which the Serbian authorities view as supporting its rivals.
EWB recalled that the initiative calling people to vote in the 17 December elections was launched by a group of intellectuals and public figures who do not support any party openly but are highly critical of the current government. It added that the negative campaign against ProGlas in pro-government media has been ongoing since early November when the initiative was launched.
“Last week, the Russian state media outlet in Serbia, Russia Today Balkan (RT Balkan) also joined the effort to discredit “ProGlas”. RT Balkan “investigated” the alleged connections between “ProGlas” and civil society organizations in Serbia, Soros, CIA and the United States,” EWB said.
“RT’s analysis, published on 6 December, made its way to the front page of the leading pro-government tabloid Informer, and the article about it was also published in the print edition of the oldest daily in Serbia, Politika. The Russian state media in Serbia once again came to the aid of the ruling party,” the portal said and recalled that RT Balkan took the side of the authorities against the organizers of the mass protests against violence after the two mass shootings last May.
RT Balkan claimed that the initiative is backed by the Civic Initiatives NGO which it alleged was pro-Western with a wide range of donors including some linked to the CIA. It added that the initiative is obviously anti-regime.
“By involving Americans, the CIA, Soros, and foreign embassies, RT Balkan, in a manner well-known in Serbia, targets civil society organizations in Serbia and the ProGlas initiative,” EWB said.
Source: N1
