Sonja Biserko, chairwoman of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, said in an interview with KTV’s “Interaktiv” that the European Commission’s statement today that the funeral of war criminal Ratko Mladić was not organized by the Serbian state represents yet another act of appeasement toward Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
“Although the highest-ranking state officials were not present, and this happened because the reactions from around the world, mainly in America and Europe, were extremely disappointing, Vučić tried to somewhat relativize the situation by saying that the state was not involved, which is certainly not true. The European Commission said that what we saw today was not a state-organized funeral, which unfortunately is once again an act of appeasement toward Vučić.
“Nevertheless, I think this is something very important and revealing about society, and I think the European Union has lost a real opportunity over these past 15 years to properly address these issues and lay the foundations for normalization in our region,” Biserko said.
Mladić was buried today in Serbia with honors, sparking widespread criticism. He died several days ago in The Hague at the age of 84, where he was serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was also known as the “Butcher of Bosnia.”
During the days surrounding the burial of Ratko Mladić, the European Union has repeatedly called for an end to the glorification of war criminals and denial of genocide, urging everyone instead to focus on honoring the victims and reconciliation in the region.
However, at a press conference, European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said that the EC does not view the burial as a funeral with state honors.
“Our position is very clear. There is no place for the glorification of war criminals or those who deny genocide, or those who go against the most fundamental European values. The fact is that we had heard that a funeral with state honors was planned, and that did not happen. So, I leave it to you to judge the significance of our position on this issue,” Pinho said.
Biserko said that the European Union has treated the Balkans incorrectly for many years.
She added that the European Commission is still held hostage by its appeasement policies toward Vučić’s regime.
However, she said that the longer Vučić remains in power, the worse it will be for Serbia.
“I think the European Commission is still held hostage by its policies, which have been appeasement policies for the past 15 years or even longer, since the war. This reaction is also a result of their uncertainty over the outcome of the elections we will have soon, which could produce a new alternative.
“It is extremely unclear who will win and what new concept or alternative we might have in Serbia. But I think that the longer the EU prolongs the life of Vučić’s regime, the worse it will be for Serbia, because we are already in a bad situation, and anyone who helps this regime will have problems with it,” Biserko said.
Biserko believes that Serbia has already turned its back on the European Union, having made no progress over the past six years on the conditions required for EU membership.
“That is why this is an incentive for a policy that essentially has no substance. Because Vučić has tried to balance his policy by giving something to each of the world’s leaders — from China, Russia, Germany, the EU and even the United States.
“But, fundamentally, Serbia has lost a great deal, because nothing has actually happened during this transition or in the reforms needed to democratize the country,” Biserko said.
