Biševac calls tributes to Mladić among Serbia's most shameful recent days

Safeta Biševac described the public reception and glorification of Ratko Mladić as one of the most shameful episodes in Serbia's recent history. The journalist and editor at the daily Danas made the comments in an interview with N1 as Mladić's funeral was due to take place in Belgrade.

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This reception and glorification of a war criminal is a great shame for Serbia and Serbs.

Mladić, the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, died in The Hague while serving a life sentence for genocide and war crimes. His body was scheduled to lie in the Church of St Luke in Vidikovac from 7 a.m. to noon, followed by a funeral service at Topčider Cemetery.

Biševac said the public honors were a disgrace not only for Serbia and Serbs, but also a message to Bosniaks, people in other parts of the former Yugoslavia, Europe and the world. She said the scenes suggested that Serbia could not easily be relied upon in efforts to build a better future and heal the wounds of the past.

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Unfortunately, these last days since the death of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić represent the most shameful days in Serbia's recent history and, unfortunately, apparently in the history of the majority of the Serbian people.

She also criticized the way pro-government media and public television presented Mladić. He was described as a general of the Army of Republika Srpska, she said, without mention of the genocide or his war-crimes conviction. Biševac argued that rejecting the legal term genocide was different from celebrating the person convicted of the crimes.

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I am a Bosniak, but I am a citizen of this country. I live in Belgrade, I want to live here in peace, I bother no one, and I do not want anyone to bother me.

Biševac said she feared what Serbia was becoming. As a Bosniak and a Serbian citizen living in Belgrade, she said she wanted to live peacefully and did not want to be targeted. She blamed Aleksandar Vučić's policies and said the authorities had made Serbs carry responsibility for war crimes. She also warned that if Kosovo Liberation Army commanders were welcomed as heroes in Pristina after a possible acquittal on Sept. 16, Serbia would have no right to complain about the scenes in Belgrade.

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Serbia is today a completely deranged state, above all because of the authorities that have managed to impose responsibility for war crimes on Serbs.