The European Commissioner for Enlargement has announced plans to visit Serbia on September 9, coinciding with national funeral proceedings for Ratko Mladic, according to reports from AFP.
Known as the “Butcher of the Balkans” for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, the former military leader of Bosnian Serbs passed away on Thursday in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity.
On Monday, Commissioner Marta Kos stated that glorifying war criminals “contradicts fundamental European values and has no place in the European Union or in countries aspiring for membership.” She emphasized that Mladic was “a convicted war criminal who was serving a life sentence for the Srebrenica genocide and for crimes against humanity.”
“Based on this, we will assess the evolving situation,” Kos added.
Serbia has held the status of a candidate country for EU membership since March 2012, following its application submitted in 2009. However, accession talks have stalled due to perceived insufficient reforms regarding the rule of law and ongoing tensions between Belgrade and Kosovo.
The Serbian Justice Minister, Nenad Vujic, announced on Friday that Mladic will receive “national funerals” in Serbia, complete with “military and state honors to which he is entitled.” Vujic affirmed, “It is certain that General Mladic will receive all military and state honors due to him.”
Mladic’s death came just days after the International Mechanism, tasked with carrying out the residual functions of the war crimes tribunals, rejected the final appeal from his family and the Serbian government for his transfer to a military hospital in Belgrade for treatment.
The Bosnia war from 1992 to 1995 resulted in about 100,000 fatalities and the displacement of 2.2 million people. At Srebrenica, forces under Mladic’s command executed 8,000 Muslim Bosniaks seeking refuge in what was supposed to be a United Nations-protected enclave.
