The Western Balkans Six Strategy Group expresses its profound indignation with the Serbian government’s actions and statements related to the funeral of war criminal Ratko Mladić. We express our respect and solidarity with the victims, survivors and families of victims of the Srebrenica genocide and other war crimes in BiH and the region. Their dignity and experiences must remain at the centre of transitional justice, remembrance and reconciliation.
THE FACTS OF THE SITUATION ARE CLEAR AS LIGHT: Ratko Mladić was serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, and these judicially established facts cannot be relativised or treated as political interpretation. Another established fact is that the behavior of Serbian state institutions surrounding Mladić's funeral - including the use of a state aircraft, military units, and the presence of government ministers and other forms of official support - amounted to institutional glorification. Such actions demonstrate that important parts of Serbia's political and institutional establishment have still not made a clear break with the nationalist narratives that enabled the crimes of the 1990s. Equally appaling were the participation and messages of officials from Republika Srpska and the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church, where religious commemoration was used to contribute to the moral rehabilitation of a convicted war criminal.
THE EUROPEAN UNION’S REACTION SHOULD BE FIRM AND UNAMBIGUOUS: The European Union's initial ambiguous and calculated communication regarding the evident involvement of the state and military in the funeral proceedings is regretful. Attempts to deny or minimize state involvement on the basis that President Aleksandar Vučić did not personally attend are particularly problematic, as they effectively reduce the Serbian state to its president and overlook the actions of its government, military and other public institutions. We call on the President of the European Commission to cancel the Serbia leg of her upcoming visit to the Western Balkans, and to use the opportunity to reaffirm that genocide denial, glorification of convicted war criminals and historical revisionism are incompatible with European values and EU accession, and to directly challenge and condemn officials who continue to relativise judicially established crimes or publicly glorify their perpetrators. Stronger subsequent EU reactions should be welcomed, but they must be followed by consistency between public statements, enlargement policy and political dialogue with authorities in the region.
TRUTH-TELLING HAS BECOME MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER: We call on the media, particularly public broadcasters, to report responsibly and always contextualise Mladić's death and funeral through the final judgments and crimes for which he was convicted. Judicially established facts must not be presented as merely one side of a political debate, as reporting without such context contributes to relativisation and historical revisionism. We also express our support for the brave individuals, journalists, civil society organisations, activists and political actors in Serbia and across the region who publicly opposed the glorification of Mladić and historical revisionism. Our joint work and solidarity should continue to build the foundations for regional peace, reconciliation and a common future in the EU.
More about the WB6 Strategy Group here.