The glorification of war criminals, the denial of genocide, the call for additional rehabilitation of war criminals and the promotion of Slobodan Milosevic‘s descendants are some of the key themes that have marked the regional events of the last seven days, with Serbia playing a leading role.
Too much even for the Balkans. If by some chance the average Balkan man was put to sleep in the mid-1990s and a miracle of medicine woke him up in the middle of July 2023, with just a cursory look at political messages and topics, he would probably realize that he didn’t miss anything. Time seemed to stand still.
A Sisyphean task
Although for years we have been listening to the story about facing the past, projects, progress towards the European Union(EU), honoring the victims and building a better society, in practice it often seems like a Sisyphean task. Until noon, they work on the EU path and reforms, from noon on heating up nationalism.
When on July 11th, two female students of the University of Sarajevo denied the genocide in Srebrenica on social media, glorifying the war criminal Ratko Mladic, with the published messages “it’s good we killed you“, although shameful and disgusting, everything still seemed like an individual outburst.
The officials of the Republika Srpska (RS), and then Serbia, made an effort not to leave it at that. Students Sladjana Todicand Valentina Vujicic overnight became heroines in nationalist circles. Milorad Dodik offered them to continue their studies in RS, but the offer from Belgrade was more tempting.
The director of the State Security Service (BIA) of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin, sent the students an offer to continue their education at the BIA’s security academy, and the director of the public company Sarajevo gas from Istocno Sarajevo, Nedeljko Elek, promised them financial assistance.
Thus, overnight female students were charged for celebrating the criminal, and the officials of the RS and Serbia showed that they are rewarding the denial of genocide.
Dacic’s Deja vu
The main political entertainer from Serbia, the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ivica Dacic, made the scene even more interesting. Whether prompted by failure in the previous elections or something else, he announced that the grandson of Slobodan Milosevic, Marko Milosevic Jr. (named after his father, who has been in Russia for decades) will enter politics.
Milosevic Jr. said at the presentation in the Socialist Party of Serbia that his goal is to contribute to Serbia from the legal side. No matter how expert Milosevic Jr. was, Dacic uses him as fuel by playing the card of his grandfather’s legacy. Thus, Dacic skillfully reminds that the 1990s still have a place in politics, at least through symbolism.
Sapic‘s rehabilitation
And the mayor of Belgrade, Aleksandar Sapic, made sure that the circle was closed. He said on Tuesday that they owe it to his ancestors to mark the place of the murder of Draza Mihailovic, who was the leader of the Chetnik movement during the Second World War.
Of course, the seeds of Mihailovic‘s rehabilitation were sown almost two decades ago, so Sapic now just reminds us that it is time to make his commemoration official and to completely equate the Partisan People’s Liberation Movement with the Chetnik movement of Draza Mihailovic.
And let’s go back to the established political platitudes. When citizens listen to stories about the European path and dealing with the past, they hear it from politicians who seem to lead them down that path, but with Mladic or Mihailovic in their hearts, minds, and on their lips, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
