A museum of humanity, a funeral for hate and the hollowness of “European values”
What memory, denial and the glorification of Ratko Mladić reveal about the politics of hate, exclusion and belonging from Sarajevo to Belgrade and beyond.
The day I visited the museum happened to be the same day as Mladic’s funeral, only a five-hour drive away.
Mladić has conquered Serbia in another way — in a country where he is now seen on murals, posters, flags, T-shirts, even socks and hats — what can only be described as amplified madness.
It looks like the values Mladić believed in are very much alive. So is a world where the ideology of hate and death dominates.
Which makes me wonder: are these the "European values" we have heard so much about?
Nidžara Ahmetašević
Nidžara Ahmetašević was K2.0’s regional editor. Nidžara has a Ph.D in media assistance in post conflict countries from the University of Graz, Austria. Her focus as a journalist is on media development in post-conflict countries, hate speech, human rights, feminism and migrations.
DISCLAIMERThe views of the writer do not necessarily reflect the views of Kosovo 2.0.
This story was originally written in English.