Gërvalla: Belgrade’s honoring of Mladić is a rehabilitation of the crimes of Srebrenica, the EU must react

Justice Minister Donika Gërvalla has strongly condemned the state and military ceremonies held in Belgrade for former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mlladiq. He was convicted by international justice of genocide in Srebrenica, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In a reaction published on Facebook, Gërvalla described the honors as an open attempt to politically rehabilitate a person responsible for the most serious crimes of the war.

According to her, Serbia’s government ministers, the president’s son, Russia’s ambassador, lawmakers from the ruling party and Republika Srpska leader Milorad Dodik attended the ceremonies for Mlladiq.

She also noted that Mlladiq’s body was transported from The Hague to Belgrade on a state aircraft and that Serbia’s Justice Minister, Nenad Vujiq, also attended the ceremony. Gërvalla recalled that Vujiq had publicly promised “high state and military honors” several weeks earlier for a person convicted of genocide by a United Nations court.

Gërvalla said that Mlladiq died in custody, where, according to her, criminals should remain, while Belgrade received him with state and military honors, including a gun salute over his coffin.

The minister said that Serbia’s justice minister should no longer be allowed to sit at any table where justice is discussed, whether in Brussels, Berlin, Strasbourg or anywhere else. She emphasized that justice cannot be treated as a negotiating chapter that is opened and closed depending on political interests.

According to Gërvalla, the European Union can no longer remain silent and turn a blind eye to Serbia’s actions. She argued that the main issue is no longer only Belgrade’s conduct, but also how long Brussels will continue to tolerate it.

The minister stated that Serbia has grown accustomed for years to the EU’s tolerance and to being treated as a partner, even when it crosses red lines. In her assessment, this approach has contributed to Belgrade now openly denying the genocide and honoring the person who committed it.

She pointed to the contrast between statements in Brussels and developments in Belgrade: while the EU discusses Chapter 23, the rule of law and European values, in Serbia a gun salute was fired over the coffin of a person convicted of genocide and he was turned into an honored figure.

Gërvalla said that glorifying individuals found responsible by international justice for some of the gravest crimes in modern Europe does not represent the path toward Europe, but rather mocks it.

She emphasized that Serbia is not acting in secret, but with its ministers, state structures and military symbolism, under the attention of the international community.

The justice minister condemned the state honoring of Mlladiq in the strongest political and moral terms, describing it as an insult to the victims, contempt for international justice and a direct act of politically rehabilitating a criminal ideology.

Gërvalla declared that this act must be condemned forcefully and unequivocally, adding that it will never be normalized. According to her, those who do not condemn genocide today are the same people who would remain silent in its presence tomorrow.

She concluded her reaction by saying that condemning these actions is not done for political interests, but in the name of justice, the victims and the truth, while the memory of the victims must never be lost.