British News Agency

Prevot referred to Mladic as “a convicted war criminal” and said, “The Butcher of Bosnia was found guilty of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He is a symbol of some of the gravest atrocities in our European history, particularly the Srebrenica genocide.”

Prevot said the ceremony held for Mladic’s funeral was shameful and disrespectful to the victims and their families, adding, “I condemn this act in the strongest terms.”

Prevot said he had conveyed this message to his Serbian counterpart responsible for European affairs, arguing that what happened moves Serbia away from the European Union’s fundamental values concerning human dignity, human rights and the fight against impunity.

The Belgian minister said this was a step in the opposite direction from what is expected of a candidate country for European Union membership.