Criticism of Serbia: Minister warns against glorifying war crimes

Minister, you have criticized the European reactions to the glorification of the Serbian war criminal Ratko Mladić and his burial with military honors in Serbia as insufficient. What reactions do you expect?

We have seen how the Serbian institutions fully honored a convicted war criminal - and ultimately the war crimes themselves. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić sent a government plane to repatriate Mladić's remains. A military parade fired a volley in Mladić's honor - ultimately under the direct command of Vučić, who is commander in chief of the Serbian armed forces. These bullets aimed straight at the heart of democratic Europe. Ministers of the Serbian government paid their last respects to this convicted war criminal, and the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church led the funeral service. They were deeply disturbing scenes that sent an extremely dangerous political message to Mladić's victims, Bosnia-Hercegovina, the entire region and Europe. The frightening scenes in the days leading up to the funeral were particularly alarming. At a football match between Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade, thousands of Serbian extremists chanted a slogan directly linked to the start of the Srebrenica genocide.

What particularly worries you?

Such messages give the impression that the war project linked to Mladić is not yet completed. These are deeply alarming political signals and Europe must understand that this is an urgent question of European peace. We therefore expect the EU to use all its political tools to make it clear that fascism, genocide denial and the glorification of war crimes will be combated. Zero tolerance!

There are calls to freeze EU accession talks with Serbia, to block all European funds for Serbia and to impose sanctions such as travel bans and bank account closures on individual members of the Serbian leadership. Do you also demand that?

Of course, we believe that the EU should consider targeted sanctions and other appropriate measures against Serbia and its political leadership. Croatian politicians as well as a number of members of the European Parliament have also expressed themselves in this direction. This shows that our attitude is not isolated. A country that glorifies war crimes and denies genocide cannot credibly work towards EU membership while disregarding the fundamental values ​​on which the European project is based. Europe must understand that this is essentially a European security issue. Bosnia-Hercegovina is fully consistent with the EU's foreign and security policy. If the European institutions fail to respond to the alarming situation in Serbia, we would have every reason to ask: What kind of policy are we actually following - and for what purpose? What is happening in Serbia today is a real test of the EU's leadership. This gives the EU the opportunity to show unequivocally what kind of Europe it wants to build and what values ​​it is prepared to defend.

In Bosnia there is fear that the country will be destroyed by a secession of the Bosnian Serb Republic, where around 20 percent of the population are Bosnian Muslims and other non-Serbs. Would Bosnia be strong enough to prevent the country from disintegrating through military means?

We live in 2026, not the 1990s. Bosnia-Hercegovina is a fundamentally different society today. Two paths are open to us. The first is to focus on young people, increase investment, boost economic development and continue on the European path. The second is secession, bloodshed and a call to arms - the path preferred by Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik. But no one will take the remains of the victims murdered in the genocide with them to any newly imagined state. The future of Bosnia-Hercegovina cannot be built on secession, division and violence. It must be based on peace, economic development, European values ​​and a future in which our young people see a reason to stay and build their lives here. Those who have pursued projects to create a Greater Serbia have repeatedly failed. The international community must make it clear that such attempts will not be tolerated again.

You recently warned that wars do not begin with massacres and “ethnic cleansing,” but rather with the rhetorical normalization or glorification of massacres and “ethnic cleansing.” Is this the stage Serbia is in today?

Yes, I believe that Serbia and the Bosnian Serb Republic are now drifting across the geopolitical landscape as Russian outposts. Instead of focusing on economic growth and good neighborly relations, Serbia under Aleksandar Vučić anchors the glorification of war crimes, genocide and massacres directly into its national identity. That's exactly what makes the situation so dangerous. When the glorification of massacres and genocide becomes part of a political and national narrative, it creates the breeding ground for further conflict. Serbia, with its current political leadership, has become a serious threat to the stability of the region.