Biserko: The EU is again patronizing Vučić after Mladić's funeral

The President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, Sonja Biserko, has sharply criticized the European Union for its stance on Ratko Mladic's funeral, describing the European Commission's statement that the ceremony was not organized by the Serbian state as "another flattery" towards President Aleksandar Vucic.

In an interview for KTV's "Interaktiv" show, Biserko said that, although the funeral was not attended by Serbia's highest state figures, state institutions cannot completely distance themselves from the way the ceremony was conducted.

"Vučić tried to relativize it a bit by saying that the state was not involved, which is certainly not true. The European Commission said that what we saw today was not a funeral organized by the state, which, unfortunately, is again a flattery towards Vučić," said Biserko.

According to her, the EU's reaction shows that Brussels has missed an important opportunity to seriously address issues related to the region's past.

"The European Union has missed a real opportunity in these 15 years to properly address these issues and lay the foundations for normalization in our region," she declared.

Ratko Mladic was buried in Serbia today, days after he died in The Hague at the age of 84. He was serving a life sentence after being found guilty of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The European Union has repeated in recent days calls against the glorification of war criminals and the denial of genocide, urging that the focus be on the victims and reconciliation in the region.

However, European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho said that Mladic's funeral ceremony could not be considered a funeral with state honors.

"Our position is very clear. There is no place for glorifying war criminals or those who deny genocide, or those who contradict the most fundamental European values," Pinho said.

She added that the European Commission had heard that a funeral with state honors was planned, but that this had not happened.

Biserko said that Brussels' stance towards Serbia is not a new phenomenon, arguing that the EU has been pursuing a "pampering" policy towards Vučić's regime for years.

According to her, this policy is also problematic for Serbia itself.

"I think the European Commission is still hostage to its policies, which have been policies of appeasement for the past 15 years or more since the war," she said.

Biserko added that the EU may also be showing caution due to uncertainty regarding future political developments in Serbia and the outcome of the upcoming elections.

However, she warned that the longer the EU supports the political status quo in Serbia, the greater the consequences could be.

"The more the EU prolongs the life of the Vucic regime, the worse it will be for Serbia, because we are already in a bad situation and anyone who helps this regime will have trouble with it," Biserko said.

The Chairwoman of the Helsinki Committee also assessed that Serbia has already practically strayed from the path of reforms that would lead it towards membership in the European Union.

She said that in the last six years there has not been sufficient progress in meeting the conditions for membership.

According to Biserko, Vučić's policy has been characterized by an attempt to maintain balanced relations with various world powers, including China, Russia, Germany, the EU and the United States.

"Vučić has tried to balance his policy by giving each of the world's leaders something, from China, Russia, Germany, the EU and even the United States," she said.

But, according to her, this policy has not brought true democratic reforms to Serbia.

"Serbia has lost a lot, because nothing has actually happened in this transition or reform to democratize," Biserko concluded.

The GeoPost