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🇷🇸 Serbia /Elections & Politics

Đurić Condemns Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister’s Remarks on Serbia’s Handling of Mladić’s Death

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić accused Bosnian Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković of hypocrisy after Konaković criticized Serbia’s conduct following Ratko Mladić’s death.
  • Konaković said Bosnia and Herzegovina would withdraw most staff from its embassy in Belgrade and reduce diplomatic and other communication with Serbia to a minimum.
  • Đurić rejected what he called selective justice and defended President Aleksandar Vučić’s past gesture toward victims in Srebrenica.

Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have traded sharp accusations after the death of Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska who died while serving a life sentence in The Hague for war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

hypocrisy and a lack of shame

· Marko ĐurićĐurić’s description of Konaković’s criticism of Serbia.

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić described Bosnian Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković’s statement as “hypocrisy and a lack of shame.” In a Facebook post, Đurić said Serbia would not accept “selective justice or moral lessons from those who persistently refuse to face their own past.”

He also attacked Konaković’s political background, accusing the circles in which the Bosnian minister developed politically of having celebrated Rasim Delić, who was finally convicted over crimes committed against Serbian prisoners by members of the El Mujahideen unit. Đurić said Konaković should instead name Serbian victims, condemn crimes against them and explain why convicted commanders are still celebrated in Sarajevo.

selective justice or moral lessons from those who persistently refuse to face their own past

· Marko ĐurićĐurić rejected Konaković’s criticism and defended Serbia’s position.

Đurić defended Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić’s visit to Srebrenica, saying Vučić had bowed to the victims and offered reconciliation before being attacked by a crowd. He said no one had been held accountable for that attack and portrayed the episode as evidence of who was prepared to risk his life for reconciliation and who used victims for political confrontations.

Instead of poisoning the debate and insulting others, he should first name the Serbian victims, condemn the crimes against them and explain why convicted commanders are still celebrated in Sarajevo.

· Marko ĐurićĐurić called on Konaković to address crimes against Serbs and the commemoration of convicted commanders.

Konaković said in Sarajevo that he would withdraw all staff from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s embassy in Belgrade except the ambassador and consul. He said he lacked authority to recall those two officials because the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina appoints them. The remaining duties would be handled by embassy staff in Montenegro and Croatia. Konaković said that, if he had the power, he would immediately sever diplomatic relations with Serbia, but that he could currently reduce them and communication with Belgrade to the lowest possible level.

If I could, I would immediately sever diplomatic relations with Serbia.

· Elmedin KonakovićKonaković described the level to which he wanted relations with Serbia reduced after Mladić’s death.
About this summary

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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