Vujic Announces Military Honors for Mladic, Brussels Reacts

Justice Minister Nenad Vujic said on August 28, appearing on K1 television, that General Ratko Mladic will be buried with the highest state and military honors, while the family alone will decide on the location of the funeral. The statement came a day after Mladic’s death in The Hague and opened a rift at the top of the government, since President Aleksandar Vucic, speaking on the same topic, left the honors out of his own remarks entirely. Reactions followed on August 28 and 29 from Brussels, from non-governmental organizations, and from the opposition.

Vujic told K1 that the state’s position was unambiguous.

“It is certain that General Mladic will receive all the military and state honors he is entitled to, as far as the state is concerned. The family will decide on the location.”

The minister repeated the same message to Banja Luka’s ATV, and later to Tanjug, adding that “the protocols are known” since Mladic held the rank of general. Nenad Vujic specified that the family has the final say on where the funeral will be held, but that the state’s obligation toward a military officer, as he interpreted it, does not depend on that decision.

Vucic Omits Any Mention of Honors

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic addressed the matter the same day, but with a different emphasis. He said the authorities still had no final word on the location of the funeral, noting that the possibility of Mladic being buried in Belgrade, next to his daughter, was being discussed publicly. Vucic said nothing about military or state honors.

“What I can guarantee is that if the family wants him buried on the territory of Serbia, we will help make sure it is done in a dignified and decent manner,” the president said.

The gap between the two statements, the minister’s clear announcement of honors and the president’s silence on the subject, remained unexplained by the end of the day. Vujic added that, in his account, every guarantee given in Mladic’s case in the past had come with the support and insistence of President Vucic, but when asked whether that support extended to the honors now being announced, he gave no direct answer.

Vujic also announced that Serbia will send a letter to the Mechanism in The Hague regarding the investigation into the circumstances of Mladic’s death, expecting it to also cover the question of his treatment in his final days. Srpske vesti covers the course of that investigation and the timeline for transferring the body to Serbia in a separate article.

What Brussels Is Saying

The European Commission responded to the announcement in a statement to Radio Free Europe, saying that responsibility for what happens next lies with the Serbian authorities.

“The European Commission believes that any glorification of war criminals runs counter to the most basic European values, and that there is no place for it, either in the European Union or in countries that are candidates for EU membership. If Ratko Mladic is buried in Serbia, it is up to the Serbian authorities to clarify any role they might play in organizing or holding the funeral of Ratko Mladic.”

Sandro Gozi, secretary general of the European Democratic Party and a member of the European Parliament, also responded, telling N1 that state honors would represent “a line that no country aspiring to EU membership should ever cross.” The European Movement in Serbia called on the authorities to abandon what the organization described as the institutional glorification of a man convicted of genocide.

Does a Dignified Funeral Include Military Honors?

That question sits at the center of the dispute, since the legal argument against the honors rests directly on Mladic’s status as a convicted person. Jovana Kolaric of the Humanitarian Law Center argues that Vujic’s announcement, if carried out, would conflict with the law currently in force.

“Paying honors in that way would actually amount to breaking the law, since the Law on the Army in force stipulates that a person sentenced to more than a year in prison loses their rank and every honor that comes with it.”

The Regional Academy for Democracy Development described the announcement as proof of the authorities’ relationship to the country’s wartime past, saying “the regime has never stopped supporting an ideology of war and death.” Women in Black said in their statement that the honors would amount to “the renewed killing of thousands of innocent victims and a trampling of the dignity of their families.”

Opposition: Two Reactions, One Message

Part of the opposition spoke out the same day. Radomir Lazovic of the Green-Left Front said the state should not glorify a war criminal in any way.

“I think it is completely wrong for the state to glorify a war criminal in any way, and I think it would be good for us to distance ourselves from that and simply say this was not done in our name.”

Srdjan Milivojevic of the Democratic Party said Mladic’s death does not change the facts established before the international war crimes tribunal, adding that “people responsible for war crimes cannot hide behind their own nation.”

Srpske vesti has previously reported on Mladic’s death in The Hague, on the condolences from New Serbian Democracy leader Andrija Mandic, on the reaction from Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic, and on the criminal complaint the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina filed against Milorad Dodik and Stasa Kosarac over the glorification of Mladic. Ratko Mladic, the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, was sentenced in a final verdict in The Hague to life in prison for genocide in Srebrenica and crimes against humanity. He died at the age of 84.

Until a final decision is made on the location and form of the funeral, the family’s position must be awaited, according to Vujic. Whether that decision will include the military honors the minister announced, or whether, as the president indicated, the funeral will stay within the bounds of “dignified and decent,” remains an open question the government has yet to answer.