Former President of Croatia, Mr Stjepan Mesić, and the last foreign affairs minister of the former Yugoslavia, Mr Budimir Lončar, distanced themselves from the recently published analyses of the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies, IFIMES, seated in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and run by Mr Zijad Bećirović.
Both Mr Mesić and Mr Lončar said they denied ‘the unverified facts and unconfirmed claims and conclusions’, that mostly refer to the analysis of the state of play in Serbia and Montenegro.
Even though some renowned people and organizations closely cooperate with the Institute, numerous criticisms and accusations were made against its work, write Slovenian media. However, this time, it faces internal dissatisfaction, as recent studies analyzing the political situation in Serbia and Montenegro disturbed honorary president, Mr Stjepan Mesić, and regular speaker at the Institute’s events, Mr Budimir Lončar, the last Yugoslavia’s chief of diplomacy. The Institute also published the data on Montenegro during the coronavirus epidemic, saying that the country was hiding data on the infections, which was denied by the govt afterwards.
In a joint press statement, Mr Mesić and Mr Lončar, strongly condemned the content of the latest two analyses.
“Both analyses represent examples of one-sided and tendentious interpretation of facts along with unfounded assumptions, as well as direct accusations, either at the expense of individual politicians or at the expense of countries. We don’t want to speculate about who gained benefits from such articles or their publications.”
