Aleksandar Vučić’s reaction to Ratko Mladić’s death says more about Serbia’s unresolved relationship with the 1990s than it does about The Hague.
Instead of acknowledging the gravity of Mladić’s convictions, the Serbian president chose to attack the UN war crimes tribunal, accusing it of “uncivilised” and “unjustifiable” behaviour for refusing to let Mladić die in Serbia.
But Mladić was not imprisoned because The Hague wanted to make a political statement.
He was serving a life sentence after being convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including his role in the Srebrenica genocide and the siege of Sarajevo.
And while Vučić questions the legitimacy of the tribunal, Serbia’s Justice Minister Nenad Vujić announced that Mladić would receive military and state honours.
That contradiction is impossible to ignore.
Serbia wants to present itself as a country moving toward the European Union. Yet at the same time, one of the most notorious convicted war criminals of the Bosnian war is being treated by senior officials not simply as a convicted criminal, but as a military figure deserving state recognition.
This is not about where Mladić died. It is about what Serbia chooses to honour.
Vučić can attack The Hague as much as he wants. But attacking the court does not erase the verdict, and portraying Mladić as a victim does not erase the victims of Srebrenica or Sarajevo.
If Serbia wants a European future, it cannot demand that Europe forget the past while Belgrade keeps rehabilitating its symbols.
You cannot build a European future by polishing the image of a man convicted of genocide.
