GENERAL MLADIĆ WILL HAVE A DIGNIFIED FUNERAL

BELGRADE, AUGUST 28 /SRNA/ - Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that General Ratko Mladić would have a dignified burial in Serbia if that is what his family wished.

“I guarantee that we will help ensure that it is done in a dignified manner,” Vučić told reporters in Osečina. He said he had also spoken with President Milorad Dodik, since Mladić was commander of the Main Staff of the Republika Srpska Army, but stressed that the wishes of the Mladić family would be decisive. “We have heard that there is a possibility that he could be buried in Belgrade, next to his daughter. We still do not know whether that will happen, because his body is not in Serbia. The Hague has not yet told us when we will be able to take custody of the body and bring it to Serbia,” Vučić said. He said he had been in contact with the general’s son, Darko Mladić, for a long time, and that Serbia had sent its teams to The Hague to assist with logistical matters and the transport of the body, as well as to find out what the family’s plans were, but that nothing was known for certain yet. Vučić said it was clear that The Hague wanted Mladić to die behind bars, rather than in a hospital, and, in particular, did not want to allow the general to die in Serbia, where he had wished to be, which he described as uncivilized and unjustifiable behavior. Speaking about inappropriate comments in the region following Mladić’s death, Vučić said it was horrifying how much hatred there was in some people, because a decent person would never write the vile things that some had posted. In that context, he also criticized a Bosniak minister from Novi Pazar in the Serbian Government. “I do not want to offend Bosniaks; we must preserve peace. They have never wanted to listen to my messages all these years. They wanted to see Serbia on its knees, but you will not live to see that happen this time either,” Vučić said. He stressed that he had never believed in “The Hague justice” and backed US President Donald Trump’s proposal to change the system of law and justice in the world, adding that Serbia would demand the same.