Brussels – A row has broken out between Brussels and Belgrade over the state funeral organised by Serbia for the former general Ratko Mladić, nicknamed the Butcher of Bosnia. “The elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable. They demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe’s recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia’s path towards the European Union,” said the President of the European Council, António Costa, and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen today (8 September), regarding the funeral of the former general and war criminal, Ratko Mladić, held yesterday in Belgrade.
According to reports from the main news agencies, Mladić was accorded military and state honours yesterday during a ceremony attended by a crowd of around 8,000 people. The two leaders described the images as “shocking”. The general died on 27 August whilst in custody in The Hague, in the Netherlands, where, as the two EU leaders recalled, he was serving a life sentence for being “responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity”. Mladić had been charged with genocide in connection with the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica, when the Serbian army invaded the city, killing thousands of men and forcing some 25,000 Muslim women, children and elderly people to leave the enclave. The atrocities he committed earned him the nickname “the Butcher of Bosnia” in the international media.
In addition to the deceased’s family, people of all ages were present to pay their last respects, including veterans, families, young people and members of the armed forces, as well as three ministers from the Serbian Government: the Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujić, the Minister of Culture, Nikola Selaković, and the Minister for Transport, Darko Glišić. The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, was not present, but his son, Danilo Vučić, attended. The official reason for the President’s absence was the state visit by the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev. However, it remains possible that he did not wish to jeopardise his relationship with the European Union.
In October, von der Leyen is due to begin her traditional tour of the Balkans. However, following yesterday’s event, it is not yet clear whether Belgrade will remain on the itinerary. Yesterday, her spokesperson, Paula Pinho, warned: “There is no place for the glorification of war criminals, nor of those who have denied the genocide, nor of those who contradict the most fundamental European values.” When it was pointed out yesterday that a state funeral was being held despite “the appeals from the European Union, which said that the very day of the funeral would be a test for Serbia” — in the broader context of the country’s EU accession — the spokesperson replied: “We had been told that a state funeral was planned, which did not happen.”
Last week, Marta Kos (
Commissioner for Enlargement) announced on her social media channels that she would not be visiting Serbia because “the glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built.” The Serbian President had described this explanation as “extremely short but stupid”, stating that he did not intend to prevent people from attending the funeral. Therefore, as of today, it is still unclear whether the occupant of the Berlaymont Building will visit the republic. For the time being, this morning’s statement stands, in which, alongside Costa, she merely reiterated that “our thoughts are with all the victims of the crimes committed in the countries of former Yugoslavia.”
