Remembering Srebrenica UK condemns full military honours for convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic

"Ratko Mladic was not a hero. He was a convicted war criminal who was found responsible for the worst genocide in Europe since the Second World War," stated Remembering Srebrenica UK.

The organization noted that the decision to honour him with a military ceremony and public glorification is an "insult to humanity, the victims, and the survivors of the genocide in Bosnia."

"It sends a deeply disturbing message that genocide can be celebrated, that hatred can be promoted, and that the perpetrators of evil can be glorified. Those who participate in this spectacle, support it, or glorify it should be ashamed," the statement reads.

Remembering Srebrenica UK pointed out that celebrating Mladic means celebrating a man whose forces killed tens of thousands of Bosnian Muslims across Bosnia and Herzegovina, terrorized civilians during the siege of Sarajevo, committed widespread persecution and forced displacement, and operated a network of concentration camps where people were imprisoned, tortured, and abused.

"From 20,000 to 50,000 women and girls were subjected to rape and sexual violence. More than two million people were driven from their homes and displaced," the text adds, emphasizing that it is "sickening that, instead of remembering the victims, an evil man is celebrated and remembered."

"Reconciliation cannot be built on the glorification of those responsible for genocide. Peace cannot be secured by rewriting the past," the organization stressed.

According to the group, people in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as everywhere, deserve a future grounded in truth, dignity, and peaceful coexistence, "...and not a future built around the glorification of an evil person convicted of genocide, the denial of the genocide in Bosnia, or the continued promotion of hatred and division."

Dr. Waqar Azmi OBE, Chairman of Remembering Srebrenica, stated that the organization unequivocally condemns the decision to accord Ratko Mladic full military honors.

"Remembering Srebrenica unequivocally condemns the decision to accord Ratko Mladic full military honours. There is nothing honorable about celebrating an evil man convicted of the worst genocide in Europe since the Second World War," Dr. Azmi said.

Addressing those participating in the funeral or glorifying it, he added: "To those who participate in this funeral or glorify it, we say clearly: you are not honouring history, you are dishonouring yourselves, your nation, and humanity, and sending the world the worst possible message about your values."

Dr. Azmi also highlighted the decades-long struggle of the Mothers of Srebrenica.

"The Mothers of Srebrenica spent decades seeking truth and justice without hatred or revenge. They have shown extraordinary courage and dignity in the face of unimaginable loss. Today, we stand with them and all the victims and survivors of the genocide in Bosnia," he stated.

Finally, Dr. Azmi noted that the organization has reached out to authorities regarding the matter: "We wrote to Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary David Miliband asking the United Kingdom Government to publicly condemn this military-honors funeral and stand up against such heinous glorification, genocide denial, and the continued promotion of hatred and division."