Serbian opposition politician attacks Vučić over Mladić's funeral: He will kneel on anyone's grave for political gain

Serbian opposition politician Janko Veselinovic has sharply criticized Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic regarding the possibility of the latter attending the funeral of former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, Ratko Mladic.

In a statement to the Serbian newspaper Danas , Veselinovic accused Vučić of political opportunism, claiming that the Serbian president is ready to exploit even such events for political gain.

"A coward and a political opportunist. He will kneel at anyone's grave if it brings him political points," declared Veselinovic.

According to him, Vučić's decision to attend the funeral will be determined by political calculations and his advisors.

Veselinovic also accused the Serbian president of links to the nationalist rhetoric of the 1990s, claiming that Vucic was the "political creator" of the slogan "100 Muslims for one Serb."

His statements come at a time when the debate has returned in Serbia about how the figure of Ratko Mladic should be treated after his death.

Mladic, former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was found guilty by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentenced to life imprisonment.

In Serbia, meanwhile, his figure continues to be the subject of intense political clashes. Nationalist groups and some of his supporters present him as a heroic figure, while war victims, their families, and organizations that document war crimes oppose any attempts to glorify or rehabilitate him.

Veselinovic has linked this debate directly to how Vucic can use Mladic's funeral politically.

"Mladic, alive or dead, is the same for Vučić – a piece of asphalt or sewage that promises but never delivers," he told Danas , using this comparison to criticize what he considers to be the Serbian president's failure to fulfill political promises.

Vučić's participation in the funeral would carry particular political weight, given his political past and Serbia's efforts to maintain a balance between domestic nationalist rhetoric and relations with Western partners.

The GeoPost