Turkey condemned the use of Ratko Mladic's funeral to glorify the convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal, TRT World reported, News.bg reports.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry pointed out that Mladic has been definitively convicted by international tribunals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The ministry said that rejecting the court rulings or glorifying convicted perpetrators deepens the suffering of the victims and their families.
Ankara warned of the consequences for reconciliation in the Balkans
According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, attempts to honor Mladic undermine long-standing efforts to achieve peace and reconciliation in the Balkans.
“What the Balkans need is to build a peaceful, prosperous and shared future based on the lessons learned from the past,“ the ministry said.
Ratko Mladić, known as the “Butcher of Bosnia“, was convicted by the UN tribunal in The Hague for his role in crimes committed during the Bosnian war (1992-1995), including the Srebrenica genocide in 1995.
Mladić died on 27 August while serving a life sentence in The Hague. His remains were later transported to Belgrade, where he was buried.