International outrage erupted following the state-supported funeral ceremony for convicted Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic in Serbia. Critics worldwide denounced the honors as an attempt to glorify a perpetrator of genocide. Turkey joined the global backlash on Sept. 8, a day after the ceremony.
Instead of a formal statement, the Foreign Ministry criticized the proceedings through a response to press inquiries by the Spokesman Öncü Keçeli without dubbing Serbia. 'Exploiting the funeral ceremony of Ratko Mladic in a way that denies grave crimes and human suffering is unacceptable,' Keçeli said. He added that rejecting court rulings and glorifying perpetrators deepens the pain of victims and damages regional peace efforts.
Known as the 'Butcher of Bosnia,' Mladic commanded Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-1995 war. International courts sentenced him to life in prison for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. His troops massacred more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in July 1995. Mladic framed the conflict through a historic anti-Ottoman lens. He viewed the war as vengeance for 500 years of Ottoman rule in Serbia. He frequently called Bosnian Muslims 'Turks.' 'The time has come for revenge against the Turks in this region,' Mladic declared upon entering Srebrenica in 1995.
According to official statements from Ankara, deep cultural and historical ties to Bosnia and Herzegovina remain a priority, and protecting Bosnian Muslims is described as a core objective of Turkish foreign policy in the Balkans. However, Ankara says it is pursuing a balancing act, prioritising its economic and defense relations with Serbia.
