After the EU enlargement commissioner cancels a visit to Belgrade in protest against ‘glorification’ of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic after his death, President Vucic dismisses her criticism as ‘stupid, as usual’.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos cancelled her planned visit to EU candidate state Serbia on Friday, the day after Ratko Mladic’s body was transported on a government plane to Belgrade, where it was met by officials and an army honour guard.
Groups of supporters of the former Bosnian Serb military chief also greeted the motorcade carrying his body into Belgrade with banners praising Mladic, hung from roadway overpasses, with messages such as “Thank you, General” and “Welcome home, General”.
The return of his remains to Belgrade reminds
“The return of his remains to Belgrade reminds Europe of the darkest pages in our recent history,” Kos wrote on X.
“The glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built … The values that underpin our common future are not negotiable. In this context, I have decided not to proceed with my planned visit to Serbia at this time,” she added.
Her criticisms have been echoed by ministers from several other EU member states.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic dismissed Kos’s criticism as “extremely brief, but stupid, as usual”.
‘Glorification’ of General Ratko Mladic, except it doesn’t
“‘Glorification’ of General Ratko Mladic, except it doesn’t say who was glorifying anything. And when they can’t find anything concrete, then they deal with underpasses and overpasses [where pro-Mladic banners were displayed]. I suppose we were meant to ban people from showing up, to ban the funeral,” he told the media on Friday.
Mladic’s body was returned to Serbia on Thursday evening on a Serbian government plane.
Ratko Mladic’s son, Darko, confirmed on Friday that the funeral will be held on Monday at the Topcider Cemetery in Belgrade.
Before the funeral, a tribute to Mladic will
Before the funeral, a tribute to Mladic will be held in a church where the coffin will be placed, and on Saturday, a public commemoration will be staged at the Home of the Army of Serbia, in central Belgrade.
Darko Mladic said a procession would be organised on Monday from the church to the cemetery and emphasised that he expects a large turnout.
“This is a people’s funeral, and, as you all know, I do not engage in politics and would not mix politics into this. The only thing I can say is that regarding our requests [to the Hague for Mladic’s conditional release because of illness], of which there were many in the past, President [Vucic] was always there for us, and I would like to publicly thank him for that support in defending General Mladic, which meant a lot to us,” Darko Mladic said.
Neither Darko Mladic nor the Minister of Justice,
Neither Darko Mladic nor the Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujic, who was sitting next to him at the press conference, specified whether there would be army or state honours at the funeral.
On August 27, when Mladic died, Vujic initially said Mladic would be buried with state honours. “General Mladic is a general and there are protocols that apply,” he said then.
Mladic held the rank of general in the Yugoslav People’s Army, JNA, during the 1990s but legal experts in Serbia are divided on whether there is any basis for a funeral with state or army honours, given that he was convicted of genocide.
President Vucic has since cast doubt
President Vucic has since cast doubt on the idea of a funeral with state honours. Minister Vujic on Friday, when quizzed about state honours, just said that the state would provide all the family was entitled to, out of “respect for the family’s wishes … [and] according to the laws of the state of Serbia”.
Asked whether he will attend the funeral in person, Vucic on Friday pleaded a packed schedule. “I have an official visit from the President of Uzbekistan [Shavkat Mirziyoyev] for the whole day on Monday and Tuesday, scheduled four months ago,” he said.
Several European dignitaries have echoed EU commissioner Kos in criticising the glorification of Mladic.
Belgium’s Foreign Minister, Maxime Prevot, wrote on X on Friday that “it is shameful and disrespectful to the victims and their families to reserve such honours for his funeral.
It’s a step distancing Serbia from EU’s fundamental
“It’s a step distancing Serbia from EU’s fundamental values of respect for human dignity, human rights and the fight against impunity – going in the opposite direction of what is expected from a EU candidate country,” Prevot said.
Ireland’s Minister for European Affairs and Defence, Thomas Byrne, told media on Friday that it was “not acceptable” if there were “senior figures from government memorialising that man”.
Source: balkaninsight.com
