BELGRADE -- EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has canceled a planned visit to Serbia after a government plane flew the body of convicted Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic to Belgrade, where soldiers carried his Serbian flag-draped coffin from the aircraft.
Mladic died on August 27 in a UN prison hospital in The Hague at the age of 84. He was serving a life sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity. His remains were handed over to the Serbian authorities on September 3 at Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
Writing on X about her decision to cancel her upcoming visit, Kos said: "The glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built. That path requires confronting the past, genuine reconciliation, and respecting the victims of war crimes."
"The values that underpin our common future are not negotiable. In this context, I have decided not to proceed with my planned visit to Serbia at this time," Kos wrote.
Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic was also on the plane from the Netherlands, along with family and family of Mladic, whose forces laid siege to Sarajevo and carried out the 1995 Srebrenica massacre killing more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys.
Kos was expected to visit Serbia, an official candidate to join the EU, on September 9-10 in a routine trip and to attend an event hosted by the Slovakia-based think tank GLOBSEC.
Earlier in the day, Kos warned that the behavior of Serbian authorities regarding the burial of Mladic will be a big test for official Belgrade.
Speaking in Dublin, Kos said, “It's not only about the technical part, [about] what they are doing in the accession process...it is about how they align with our values."
Mladic took command of the Bosnian Serb army in 1992 and led a campaign that seized large parts of Bosnia-Herzegovina. His forces held Sarajevo under a siege lasting more than three years, shelling and sniping civilians.
In 2017, the UN-backed International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia convicted Mladic of genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws or customs of war.
Speaking at a press conference in Belgrade on September 4, Justice Minister Vujic responded to Kos's criticism, saying that Serbia would "ensure that everything takes place peacefully and with dignity."
Will Mladic Have A State Funeral?
The circumstances of Mladic's funeral are still unclear. Vujic had previously said that Mladic would be buried with highest state honors.
Asked about those earlier comments, Vujic said that he respected the Mladic family's wishes.
Speaking at the same press conference, Mladic's son, Darko, said his father would be buried at the Topcider cemetery in the Serbian capital. He also asked supporters to use public transport and keep the funeral “peaceful and dignified,” without provocations.
Politicians in the United States and Europe have condemned the possibility of Serbia holding a state funeral for Mladic.
Posting on X on August 31, Representative Joe Wilson (Republican-South Carolina) said: "It is unconscionable that Vucic should plan to bury war criminal Mladic with honors. This is like Germany giving state honors to Hitler."
Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Europe minister, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said on September 4 that "a state funeral would be unacceptable" as would "senior figures from government memorializing" Mladic.
"It is certainly time to bury the past and to work and continue reconciliation in that region," Byrne said. "But make no mistake, what's happening [in Serbia] continues to hurt people particularly in the region but also in some member states of the European Union."
The Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, Michael O’Flaherty, said on September 4 that he abhorred the public glorification of Mladic.
"I call on all authorities to counter the glorification of convicted war criminals, and to fulfill their legal obligations to ensure accountability, protect victims' rights, and uphold justice," he said in a statement.