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Internal crisis shakes Balkan media network run by UK intel, leaked emails show

By Kit Klarenberg and Jovan Milovanović · The Grayzone · August 13, 2024

A prominent propaganda outlet in the Balkans, which is directly overseen by a British government agency that Reuters once labeled “an influential soft-power extension of UK foreign policy,” appears to be on the brink of collapse after a major schism between staff members and leadership.

Leaked emails reviewed by The Grayzone reveal a “deep crisis” has engulfed the Western-created and funded Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), which threatens to tear the organization apart. A flagship propaganda platform in the arsenal of multiple Western governments and foundations, it has sought to reshape the restive region in favor of European and US interests, publishing many “products” in service of this goal. Now, the entire information warfare empire seems to be on shaky ground.

The emails, which were leaked in April, reveal that an internal “crisis” has erupted at BIRN. This disaster has largely been pinned on its Regional Director, Milka Domanovic, who oversees the organization’s “portfolio of regional projects.” In the emails, multiple nameless employees accuse her of a wide variety of grave failings, including “neglect of duties” and “inappropriate conduct.” Her alleged incompetence and “mismanagement” purportedly led the EU to demand a grant of 300,000 euros be returned. The authenticity of the emails has been confirmed by BIRN staffers.

A joint email sent by the complainants to the highest echelons of BIRN on April 17 accused Domanovic of encouraging “covert discussions” about staff performances, “pitting them against each other, often using such techniques as shaming them for problems in their absence.” What’s more, they claimed that “sensitive information” which was confidentially shared with higher-ups was “carelessly handled, leading to breaches.” In the document, the organization’s Regional Director stands accused of a “combative and threatening communication style,” and encouraging a workplace environment “rife with gossip”:

“A culture of silence pervades… leaving many of us cowering from the repercussions of voicing genuine concerns or dissent,” the staffers wrote.

Domanovic’s tenure, they say, “has been marred by an authoritarian stance towards colleagues [and] indecision, ineffectiveness, and delays, resulting in a cascade of missed opportunities, funds, and targets.” When issues come to a head, “the blame is often cast upon others,” they continued, adding that Domanovic has “cultivated an environment fraught with paranoia” and engages in “relentless and often pointless scrutiny of the work of many of us.”

The damning charges were leveled by a number of experienced internal sources, who have worked under different BIRN leaders, and claim to have never encountered such issues before. Per the emails, they chose to remain anonymous “due to a legitimate fear of retaliation” by Domanovic, who they claim favored “secrecy, backroom dealings, and a lack of accountability” over “speaking truth to power” internally while in the post.

The group wrote that if they were to reveal their identities, “our careers in BIRN would be over,” a claim which they said was “clearly” validated by the “recent, sudden departures of our colleagues.”

An email sent on April 24 by Domanovic to the group, with the organization’s entire governing “Assembly” cc’ed, suggests their anxieties were well-founded. Boldly declaring that she would not be “responding to an anonymous email,” she nevertheless went on to accuse its authors of working “to cause chaos inside of BIRN.” The Regional Director added that the organization’s board shared her “concerns about anonymous communication.”

“If these emails have indeed come from inside of BIRN, Assembly is deeply disappointed with the judgment of those who chose to air grievances in a way that is potentially damaging to the reputation, the workplace environment and the mission of BIRN.”

Attacking elites when their “incentives are not aligned with [Britain’s] objectives/values”

BIRN’s donor roll is a veritable rogue’s gallery of intelligence cutouts and regional Western embassies. Leaked documents show that British involvement extends well beyond merely funding the outlets, with its foreign intelligence services going as far as training the organization’s operatives, and even directing their activities through the so-called British Council (BC).

Veteran diplomat Harold Beeley described the British Council as one of London’s “principal international propaganda agencies,” alongside the BBC. More recently, Reuters dubbed BC “an influential soft-power extension of UK foreign policy.”

A leaked internal document reveals the British Council took control of BIRN under a Foreign Office project, supposedly aimed at “supporting greater media independence in the Western Balkans.” The state-sponsored operation also claims without any sense of irony that it aims to counter “media capture” in a region where the most well-resourced outlets are sponsored by Western governments.

Under the program’s auspices, journalists throughout the Balkans receive “training and mentoring,” and help “improving their engagement with citizens on issues of public interest; targeting online audiences through social media networks and tools, public outreach campaigns; development of social networks, maintenance of their online profiles, and on-the-job training [to] lead social media campaigns.”

More recently, the British Council mulled the creation of a “cutting edge tool for engaged citizens reporting” which would enable BIRN and other covertly British-backed outlets in the Balkans “to receive and respond on regular basis to leaks” and tips from locals, “pointing to the most pressing issues in local communities.” Notably, Milka Domanovic’s LinkedIn profile reveals that from 2019 – 2022, she was in charge of “research and design” of “the custom ‘engaged citizens reporting tool.’”

In other words, British intelligence effectively attempted to construct a pro-NATO Wikileaks knockoff with Domanovic’s assistance. Elsewhere, the leaked files state the BC project is “about disrupting the status quo, and enabling the media to hold government to account.” Past files from Britain’s Stabilisation Unit made clear that London’s support for news outlets in the Balkans is explicitly aimed at spreading London’s influence, often by advancing regime change.

“In contexts where elite incentives are not aligned with [Britain’s] objectives/values… an approach that seeks to hold elite politicians to account might be needed,” a leaked file notes.

“We can build relationships and alliances with those who share our objectives and values for reform…” it continues. “It is critical that the media have the capacity and freedom to hold political actors to account.”

The newly-leaked BC documents acknowledge the project’s mission was also designed to “challenge political interests” regionally, a prospect which they admit would be “highly contentious” and risk “generating backlash” against its advocates and journalists alike.

As such, the British Council took measures to “ensure that media outlets we work with have proportionate media defence strategies in place as part of our conflict sensitive approach… we will develop security and crisis management responses to ensure the safety, security and wellbeing of all our staff.” BC’s assets were therefore assured of their own protection in the event of blowback brought about by the meddling of their sponsors in London.

The leaked BIRN emails show a ferocious backlash has indeed erupted — but internally, directed towards the organization’s British-groomed chief, Milka Domanovic.

Apparent British government asset heads BIRN

In an email dated from this April 26, anonymous staffers lamented the “dismissive and authoritarian tone” of Domanovic as both “disrespectful and wholly inappropriate for someone occupying this position.” They reminded the Regional Director, and BIRN’s Assembly, that under the organization’s own rules and regulations, “the right to file complaints anonymously is explicitly protected.” In any event, they said they had raised their grievances directly with her “on numerous occasions and in various forums,” to no avail:

“Her continuous misguided conduct and contentious communications continue to try to dismiss and silence legitimate employee concerns… These developments, coupled with the growing anxiety and fear among staff concerning potential retaliation, informal interrogations by the Regional Director about who is ‘behind’ these letters, threats made by [Domanovic] among colleagues she deems ‘trusted’… underscore the urgent need for the Assembly’s immediate intervention, to mitigate the broadening crisis and determine damage control measures.”

It appears no action was taken to address Domanovic’s alleged misconduct. Given her background as a Chevening Scholar, the lack of accountability was unsurprising. Provided by the Foreign Office, these scholarships provide a vital mechanism for projecting British soft power abroad. Many Chevening scholars go on to occupy positions of power in their home countries.

An official BIRN profile of Domanovic states that Chevening placed her at Goldsmiths, University of London. There, she obtained a master’s degree not in journalism, but in “marketing and technology”. This experience reportedly “helped her improve her research and analytical skills, as well as discover new potential for successful media outreach.” While the leaked emails may suggest otherwise, such schooling was no doubt extremely helpful in constructing an “engaged citizens reporting tool” for the British, which she began work on immediately after graduation.

Indeed, another leaked document related to British infiltration of the former Yugoslavia explicitly state that the creation of a “pipeline” of female “defence and diplomacy” journalists in the region, via Chevening, is a core objective for London. It was forecast they would serve as pro-British “influencers in the Western Balkans” for the remainder of their careers. Documents described these media operatives as part of a wider effort to “[bring] female journalists to the forefront of the industry’s consciousness” in the region.

“The programme will include an outreach element with activities undertaken in universities to encourage women to consider journalism as a career. The UK could also lobby [local] media to reserve a percentage of entry-level roles for women. It will challenge gender stereotypes and open a gateway to areas previously occupied mostly by men in a high-visibility industry. It will also improve the perception of the UK with these participants.”

It should therefore come as little surprise that Domanovic, as an alumnus of Britain’s premiere overseas asset grooming operation, was quickly tapped to run BIRN once her Chevening scholarship ended. The privileges extended to her personally — and the significance of her British-directed mission — appear to have translated into near-total immunity from any repercussions for serial incompetence, or any of her other grave transgressions that employees say jeopardized the entire organization.

Rather than addressing staff concerns about her leadership, the BIRN Assembly explicitly sought to expose the whistleblowers, according to Montenegrin outlet Antena M. US-based Assembly member Robert Bierman dismissed their anxieties outright, offering them a personal review of their complaints – but only if they revealed their identities. That message came just three days after Domanovic reportedly warned her accusers of serious repercussions if they continued their remonstrations. Her main concern, she indicated, was stopping “further information leaks.”

BIRN and Domanovic were contacted for comment on the accusations, but have not responded.

Milka Domanovic remained BIRN’s Regional Director as of June 2024. The fate of her accusers is unknown.

August 17, 2024 Posted by aletho | Deception | UK | 1 Comment