Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister Albin Kurti has criticized Serbia’s decision to receive the body of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić with high state honors, saying the move highlights a deep contradiction in Serbia’s approach to its wartime past.
Kurti said it was difficult for a society to genuinely confront its past, express remorse or distance itself from the policies that produced wartime crimes when a person convicted of genocide and war crimes is publicly honored by state institutions.
“There is a major paradox with our northern neighbor,” Kurti said.
He noted that Mladić, who was convicted of genocide and war crimes committed during the Bosnian war, was received with high state honors after his death in The Hague.
Kurti also criticized Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić for overseeing the state’s handling of Mladić’s remains, recalling Vučić’s political background and his past statements concerning the Bosnian war.
“This is also a clear example of the way in which Serbia glorifies the figure of one of those primarily responsible for the most serious crimes of the war in Bosnia,” Kurti said.
“When a society publicly honors someone convicted of genocide, it is difficult to speak of confronting the past, repentance or distancing itself from the policies that produced those crimes,” he added.
Mladić, the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, died in The Hague on August 27 at the age of 84. He had been serving a life sentence after being convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes by the UN tribunal.
The Serbian authorities have said that Mladić’s funeral would receive state support and high honors, a decision that has prompted criticism from Kosovo and international political figures.
Kurti’s remarks come amid renewed debate across the region over the legacy of the Bosnian war, the Srebrenica genocide and the continuing political glorification of individuals convicted of war crimes.
