The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia announced on August 22 that the Twitter accounts of the Serbian embassies in Armenia, Iran, Indonesia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Kuwait, as well as the Consulate General in Chicago, were suspended on August 18.
According to this ministry, the suspension of the accounts “was done without any explanation and without any prior notification that would indicate any possible violation of the rules of communication in this social network”.
The Serbian MFA said that “this is unacceptable for the diplomatic missions of a democratic state that is not subject to any sanctions”.
“Some of the suspended accounts were recently opened and have not been active, while others have no content that could be considered inappropriate,” the announcement said.
The Foreign Ministry said that Serbia is committed to membership in the European Union and respects freedoms “according to the highest European standards”.
“It is absurd that a number of our diplomatic and consular missions are censored on social media that promotes democracy and pluralism,” the statement said.
Serbia has asked the Twitter company to unblock these accounts. The Serbian Foreign Ministry also said that it hopes that the suspension of the accounts “is not part of the efforts to silence Serbia in the fight for the truth”, especially for the situation regarding Kosovo.
Tensions between Kosovo and Serbia increased after on July 31 and August 1, local Serbs blocked roads in northern Kosovo to protest the decision of the Government in Pristina on Serbian license plates and documents.
On August 18, Twitter suspended the accounts of dozens of former MPs and current members of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, as well as a government official.
On August 19, Twitter said that they have unblocked the accounts and that the suspension was done in error.