Director of the Srebrenica Memorial Center Emir Suljagić sharply reacted to Ursula von der Leyen’s statement, the President of the European Commission, regarding the funeral of the war criminal Ratko Mladić in Belgrade.
Following daily reactions from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Von der Leyen said that the sights from Mladić’s funeral were “shocking”, and assessed that there were “elements of official support” for his funeral. She said such support should be regretted.
Her reaction came a day later, after European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho sparked outrage claiming that, despite all previous announcements, Mladić was not buried with state honors in Belgrade.
Suljagić assessed that publicly avoiding naming what happened is the biggest issue in the entire story.
“The only regrettable thing in this entire affair is that Von der Leyen refuses to call things by their rightful name,” Suljagić said.
He recalled the circumstances around Mladić’s funeral, stating that Serbia’s senior officials attended, while members of the Army of Serbia played a part in the ceremony.
“Five Serbian government ministers attended. Serbian soldiers stood guard over his coffin. His body was transported in a Serbian government aircraft, under the Serbian state flag,” said the director of the Memorial Center.
“If this is not state involvement, what is?” Suljagić asked.
He said that the victims of genocide and their families will remember who stood by them at a time when honor was paid to Mladić, and who, as he said, decided to turn their heads.
“We will especially remember it the next time an EU official asks to visit the Srebrenica Memorial Center,” he stated.
Suljagić concluded that for victims, declarative messages of support are not enough if, simultaneously, there is a lack of a clear attitude towards political actors who, according to him, glorify war criminals.
We have had enough of people paying lip service to the victims while proceeding to shake hands with politicians dreaming of future genocides.
