Tirana, 8 September 2026 – The Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ferit Hoxha, condemned the tributes organized in Serbia in honour of Ratko Mladić, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Minister Hoxha reacted from the moment the news of the planned tributes became known, warning that the glorification of a convicted war criminal constitutes an insult to the victims and survivors, as well as a serious blow to efforts towards reconciliation in the region.

The crimes committed by the Milošević regime and its military structures are not a distant chapter of history. The people of Kosovo, including Kosovo Albanians, directly experienced the violence, mass expulsions, persecution and war crimes committed by this regime. For this very reason, any attempt to honour the perpetrators of this criminal policy directly affects the memory and dignity of the victims.

“The glorification of convicted war criminals, the denial of genocide and historical revisionism do not merely reopen the wounds of the past. They dishonour the victims and survivors, erode trust among people and communities, and undermine the possibility of genuine reconciliation,” Minister Hoxha stated.

He stressed that reconciliation cannot be built through the relativization of crimes or the symbolic rehabilitation of their perpetrators, but only on the foundations of truth, justice, accountability and respect for the victims.

“Our region has a future to build together, but that future cannot be built by glorifying those responsible for the darkest chapters of the past. It must be a future founded on peace, mutual respect and an unwavering commitment to ensuring that such crimes are never repeated,” Minister Hoxha concluded.