Marko Atlagić
{{Short description|Serbian politician and historian}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Marko Atlagić
| native_name = Марко Атлагић
| native_name_lang = sr
| image = Marko Atlagić.jpg
| caption = Atlagić at a conference in 2011
| image_size =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1949|04|30|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Ostrovica, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
| nationality = Serbian
| education = Faculty of Philosophy
| alma_mater = University of Zadar
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = SKJ (until 1990)
SSH (1990-1991)
SRS RSK (1991-1997)
SRS (1997-2008)
SNS (2008-present)
| occupation = Politician, historian
}}
Marko Atlagić ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Марко Атлагић}}; born 30 April 1949) is a Croatian-born, Serbian politician and historian. He is one of the leaders of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Head of the Historical Department at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Priština in North Mitrovica, with auxiliary historical sciences as his preferred field.{{cite web|title=Production of fear|publisher=Sense-tribunal|date=Feb 15, 2006|url=http://www.sense-agency.com/icty/production-of-fear.29.html?cat_id=1&news_id=9489|access-date=August 16, 2011|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052145/http://www.sense-agency.com/icty/production-of-fear.29.html?cat_id=1&news_id=9489|url-status=dead}}
Early life, education
Born in Ostrovica, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia, Atlagić finished primary school and high school in his hometown and in Benkovac. He later graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zadar, where in 1981 he received his master's degree in history.{{cite web |date=23 December 2021 |title=Marko Atlagić |url=https://www.istinomer.rs/akter/marko-atlagic/ |website=Istinomer.rs |access-date=8 January 2025}} His professional biography states that he received his PhD from the University of Priština in Kosovo (later headquartered in Kosovska Mitrovica) in 1996. However, the accuracy of this information came into question in 2022 following a scandal regarding his alleged biographical forgeries. There is no record of his PhD thesis in the university's catalog and he was unable to publicly show it.{{cite news |date=16 September 2022 |title=DS: Novi predsednik Odbora za obrazovanje da objasni kako je postao profesor |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/ds-novi-predsednik-odbora-za-obrazovanje-da-objasni-kako-je-postao-profesor/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}} He worked as a professor and a member of the senate of the same university in Serbia.
=Scientific works=
He reportedly published 8 books and 150 scientific papers. However, in 2022 it was revealed that at the time there was no available list of his works; Google Scholar and ORCID did not list him in their registry, Scopus listed one work, meanwhile Serbian Citation Index listed 29, out of which 14 were published in Zbornik radova by the institute of the same University of Priština where he works as a professor, and 12 were in journal Baština where he is a member of the editorial board.{{cite news |last=Nikolić |first=Maja |date=20 September 2022 |title=Odbor za obrazovanje vodi doktor nauka kojeg ni Gugl ne prepoznaje |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/odbor-za-obrazovanje-vodi-doktor-nauka-kojeg-ni-gugl-ne-prepoznaje/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}} Promoting himself as an expert on heraldry and vexillology, some of his works were critically reviewed by SANU academic historian Slavko Gavrilović, and heraldist Dragomir Acović, who deemed it as scientifically worthless due to its falsifications, false references, lack of knowledge, exceptional claims, and low literacy level.{{cite news |date=29 January 2020 |title=Poslanik SNS ocenjen kao „nepismeno nestručan“ |url=https://www.danas.rs/dijalog/licni-stavovi/poslanik-sns-ocenjen-kao-nepismeno-nestrucan/ |work=Danas |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}}{{cite news |date=22 September 2022 |title=Bar da su ćutali o Atlagićevoj diplomi... |url=https://direktno.rs/politika/433537/marko-atlagic-doktorski-rad-sns-odbor-za-obrazovanje.html |work=Direktno.rs |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}}
Politics
=1990s=
As a member of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia, he participated at the last convened 14th Congress of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia.{{cite news |date=24 January 2020 |title=Poslanik Atlagić napada po nalogu partije |url=https://www.danas.rs/dijalog/licni-stavovi/poslanik-atlagic-napada-po-nalogu-partije/ |work=Danas |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}} In the early 1990s, after Croatia proclaimed its independence from SFRJ, as a member of the Socialist Party of Croatia he was on the List of members of the Sabor, 1990–1992 as one of many representatives of the Council of Municipalities. However, he soon joined the Serb nationalist movement in Croatia, which sought to form a separate state from Croatia. In 1991, he participated in a pan-Serbian meeting of the SAO Kninska Krajina in Knin as one of its speakers. As a member of ultra-nationalist the "Serbian Radical Party for Republic of Srpska Krajina" (SRS for RSK) he was elected MP in the Parliament of the Republic of Serbian Krajina, and in 1994 he was elected as its vice-president after the Serbian Radical Party dominated parliamentary majority was constituted. The government fell in late 1994, after which Atlagić resigned from the position of Deputy Speaker. In 1995, Atlagić was Minister without portfolio in the last RSK government, under Milan Babić. After Operation Storm, he had been one of the ministers from 1995 to 2006 by the SRS-promoted Government of the RSK in Exile.
In 2006, Atlagić testified at the trial of Slobodan Milošević. He claimed various "notorious facts" against the Croats which "failed to corroborate", and "insisted that Serbs had committed no bad acts".{{cite book |last=Armatta |first=Judith |date=2010 |title=Twilight of Impunity: The War Crimes Trial of Slobodan Milosevic |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Twilight_of_Impunity/pXygFoqg-G0C |publisher=Duke University Press |page=394 |isbn=9780822391791 |access-date=8 January 2025}} In 2020 and 2021 he co-authored papers which denied that the Srebrenica massacre was a genocide,{{cite journal |last1=Atlagić |first1=Marko P. |last2=Martinović |first2=Aleksandar L. |date=2021 |title=The Srebrenica massacre of 1995 is the biggest triumph of propaganda |journal=Baština |issue=55 |language=sr |doi=10.5937/bastina31-34114 |publisher=Institute of Serbian Culture Priština, Leposavić |pages=147–162|doi-access=free }} and provided a revisionist explanation of the circumstances of the Breakup of Yugoslavia.{{cite journal |last1=Atlagić |first1=Marko P. |last2=Martinović |first2=Aleksandar L. |date=2021 |title=The SFRY did not fall apart: It was intentionally broken up |journal=Napredak |volume=2 |issue=3 |language=sr |doi=10.5937/napredak2-34620 |publisher=Foundation "For the Serbian people and the state" |pages=75–94|doi-access=free }} He also claimed that over 800,000 Serbs were killed in the WWII Jasenovac concentration camp.{{cite journal |last1=Atlagić |first1=Marko P. |last2=Martinović |first2=Aleksandar L. |date=2020 |title=Croatian scientists and politicians falsifying the number of victims in the Jasenovac concentration camp in the ISC from 1941 to 1945 |journal=Napredak |volume=1 |issue=2 |language=sr |doi=10.5937/Napredak2002079A |publisher=Foundation "For the Serbian people and the state" |pages=79–100|doi-access=free }}
=2000s–present=
In 2007, the SRS had crumbled and Marko Atlagić had supported the Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić faction as opposed to Vojislav Šešelj, becoming a member of the new Serbian Progressive Party's presidency and was assigned to deal with Refugee and IDP problems. As a member of Serbian Progressive Party after the 2012 Serbian parliamentary election he was on the list of members of the National Assembly of Serbia, 2012–2014, which continued to be until the National Assembly of Serbia, 2022–2024. Atlagić "is a member of the Board on the Diaspora and Serbs in the Region, the Board on Education, Science, Technological Development and the Information Society and a deputy member of the Committee on Kosovo and Metohija". In 2022 and 2024, he was elected as the Head of the Board of Education, which some perceived as an insult to the public, academic and political community.{{cite news |date=15 October 2024 |title=Atlagić ponovo na čelu Odbora za obrazovanje i nauku |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/atlagic-ponovo-na-celu-odbora-za-obrazovanje-i-nauku/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}}{{cite news |date=18 October 2024 |title=„Nije dostojan da predstavlja ljude koji obrazuju i vaspitavaju“: Srbija centar traži razrešenje Marka Atlagića |url=https://www.danas.rs/vesti/drustvo/nije-dostojan-da-predstavlja-ljude-koji-obrazuju-i-vaspitavaju-srbija-centar-trazi-razresenje-marka-atlagica/ |work=Danas |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}}
In 2013, he caused controversy in the National Assembly by proclaiming the first Croatian president Franjo Tuđman as an example of a "proper management of the state" and "for a good solution to personnel problems".{{cite news |author=mf/VLM |date=27 August 2013 |title=Je li bio dobar? Zastupnici srpske Skupštine posvađali se zbog Tuđmana! |url=https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/zastupnici-srpske-skupstine-posvadjali-se-zbog-tudjmana-604113 |work=Večernji list |language=hr |location=Zagreb |access-date=9 January 2025}}
Atlagić was one of the ideological creators of the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Higher Education from September 2018, which "legalized fake doctorates".{{cite news |date=14 February 2019 |title=Profesori Filozofskog fakulteta odbacili neistine i uvrede poslanika SNS-a |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/a460303-profesori-filozofskog-fakulteta-odbacili-neistine-i-uvrede-poslanika-sns-a/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}} In 2019, during the Siniša Mali plagiarism scandal and 2018–2020 Serbian protests, he attacked and spread misinformation about professors from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade who supported the protests (and Raša Karapadža who published a review of Siniša Mali's plagiarized PhD).{{cite news |last=D. |first=D. |date=18 February 2019 |title=Marko Atlagić vređa kolege i građane Srbije |url=https://www.danas.rs/vesti/drustvo/marko-atlagic-vredja-kolege-i-gradjane-srbije/ |work=Danas |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}}{{cite news |date=4 July 2019 |title=105 od 5 miliona: Atlagić napao profesore, u normalnoj državi bi digli optužnicu |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/a497106-inicijativa-105-od-5-miliona-atlagic-napao-profesore-u-normalnoj-drzavi-bi-digli-optuznicu/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}}
In 2020, he was insulting to the political members of the opposition (incl. Vuk Jeremić),{{cite news |date=11 November 2020 |title=Narodna: Atlagić vređao Kovačevića i Jeremića, na istom zadatku kao Aca Lukas |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/a670885-narodna-atlagic-vredjao-kovacevica-i-jeremica-na-istom-zadatku-kao-aca-lukas/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}} and actress Seka Sablić.{{cite news |date=3 December 2020 |title=Vučić: Kritike Atlagića upućene Seki Sablić nisu bile potrebne |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/a679682-vucic-kritike-atlagica-upucene-seki-sablic-nisu-bile-potrebne/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}} In 2021, he continued to insult Vuk Jeremić which resulted in a warning by National Assembly President Ivica Dačić.{{cite news |date=10 February 2021 |title=Dačić upozorio poslanika SNS Atlagića da pripazi na rečnik |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/dacic-upozorio-poslanika-sns-atlagica-da-pripazi-na-recnik/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}}{{cite news |date=17 February 2021 |title=Otvoreni parlament podneo prijavu protiv Atlagića zbog uvredljivog izraza |url=https://n1info.rs/vesti/otvoreni-parlament-podneo-prijavu-protiv-atlagica-zbog-uvredljivog-izraza/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}} In 2023, PEN International published an article,{{cite web |date=22 June 2023 |title=Serbia: Stop the harassment of writer and academic Jovo Bakić |url=https://www.pen-international.org/news/serbia-stop-the-harassment-of-writer-and-academic-jovo-bakic |work=PEN International |language=en |access-date=9 January 2025}}{{cite news |date=22 June 2023 |title=PEN International concerned about Belgrade Professor Bakic |url=https://n1info.rs/english/news/pen-international-concerned-about-belgrade-professor-bakic/ |work=N1 |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}} and Union of Concerned Scientists wrote an open letter to president Vučić because of Atlagić's personal attack which were additionally promoted by the pro-government tabloids which harassed sociology professor Jovo Bakić of the University of Belgrade due to his criticism of the government.{{cite web |date=2 August 2023 |title=Belgrade University Sociology Professor Threatened for Expressing Criticism of the Government |url=https://concernedscientists.org/2023/08/belgrade-university-sociology-professor-threatened-for-expressing-criticism-of-the-government/ |work=Union of Concerned Scientists |language=en |access-date=9 January 2025}} In his statements against the opposition, he also made disparaging remarks about the LGBTQ community.{{cite news |last=Radovanović |first=Vojin |date=8 June 2023 |title=„Atlagić vređajući opoziciju, uvredio čitavu LGBT zajednicu“: Janko Veselinović o incidentu s poslanikom SNS |url=https://www.danas.rs/vesti/politika/atlagic-vredjajuci-opoziciju-uvredio-citavu-lgbt-zajednicu-janko-veselinovic-o-incidentu-s-poslanikom-sns/ |work=Danas |language=sr |location=Beograd |access-date=9 January 2025}} His behavior in the National Assembly was described by others, like Zdravko Ponoš in 2024, as a tactic to provoke and insult opposition representatives, in order to "distract us from the essential issues and responsibilities of the current government".{{cite news |last=Zovko |first=Hrvoje |date=23 November 2024 |title=Intervju: Zdravko Ponoš - Dok mu Vučić daje municiju, nudi litij, isporučuje Kosovo, Zapad ne zanima demokracija u Srbiji |url=https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/dok-mu-vucic-daje-municiju-nudi-litij-isporucuje-kosovo-zapad-ne-zanima-demokracija-u-srbiji-1818030 |work=Večernji list |language=hr |location=Zagreb |access-date=9 January 2025}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{RSK Cabinet Milan Babić}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlagic, Marko}}
Category:20th-century Serbian historians
Category:21st-century Serbian historians
Category:Deniers of the Bosnian genocide
Category:Members of the Assembly of the Republic of Serbian Krajina
Category:Members of the National Assembly (Serbia)