EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has condemned the public glorification of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić in Serbia, warning that reconciliation in the Western Balkans cannot be achieved by honoring those convicted of war crimes.
Kallas said the public praise for a convicted war criminal in Belgrade was an insult to the memory of the victims, their families and those who suffered during the conflicts of the 1990s.
“Public praise for a convicted war criminal in Belgrade is an insult to the memory of the victims, their families and all those who suffered during the conflicts in the Western Balkans,” Kallas wrote.
She stressed that genuine reconciliation cannot be built on historical revisionism, genocide denial or the glorification of perpetrators of atrocities.
“The path of Serbia toward the European Union requires a clear commitment to fundamental European values and historical truth,” Kallas said.
“There is no place in Europe for the glorification of war criminals.”
Kallas’s comments come amid controversy in Serbia over the treatment of Mladić, who was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment.
His death and funeral have prompted renewed criticism from European officials over the continued glorification of his legacy in Serbia, including the involvement of state institutions and senior officials in events surrounding his final farewell.
The controversy has also intensified scrutiny of Serbia’s commitment to reconciliation and the values underpinning its EU accession process.
