The statement of European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho about the last send-off of war criminal Ratko Mladić caused numerous reactions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and among those who spoke were members of the “Mothers of Srebrenica” association.
Pinho, commenting on the organization of Mladić’s funeral in Belgrade, said that the European Commission heard that a send-off with state honors was planned, but that, according to her, it did not happen in the end.
Such an assessment was met with harsh criticism in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Association “Mothers of Srebrenica” said that the facts must be called by their true name, especially when it comes to a person who was legally convicted of genocide and other war crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Why don’t you call a spade a spade? Do you think you will easily come to Potočare after everything?” said the “Mothers of Srebrenica”.
In the announcement, they marked the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina, the European Commission, the European Parliament, its Committee on Foreign Affairs, the European Service for External Affairs, as well as the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Policy Kaja Kallas and the President of the European Council Antonio Costa.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina also responded to the statement of the spokeswoman of the European Commission, which requested an explanation of how it is possible to deny what, according to available information, happened in Belgrade.
“Are you aware of what you are saying? Are these the values of the European Union? Five ministers from the Government of Serbia sat in the first row at the funeral, the convicted war criminal was sent off with military honors, and his body was delivered by a government plane of Serbia,” stated the reaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The polemic also opened up the broader question of the relationship of European institutions to the way in which the legacy of the wars of the 1990s is treated in Serbia, especially when it comes to legally convicted war criminals.
Academician and writer Esad Duraković also spoke, who evaluated the statement of the representative of the European Commission as a message that, in his opinion, has much deeper political and social implications.
“Because a deadly disease called Islamophobia has metastasized in Europe, and Muslims live in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And this is a message that they will remain on the villain’s side,” said Duraković.
