“Albania condemns the glorification of Ratko Mladić, a convicted war criminal who died while serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes,” Hoxha wrote in a post on the social network X.

Hoxha stressed that Albania joins the European Union, its leaders and all those who have rightly condemned the manner in which he was honored in Serbia.

“Our position has been clear and remains consistent: the glorification of convicted war criminals, the denial of genocide and historical revisionism run counter to the values ​​upon which the European project is built and undermine the spirit of reconciliation, cooperation and good-neighborly relations that are essential to a shared future in the Western Balkans”, stressed Hoxha.

The minister underlined that such acts cause more harm than simply reopening the wounds of the past.

“They dishonor victims and survivors, erode trust between communities and people”, added Hoxha.

The minister stressed that Albania firmly believes that genuine reconciliation can only be built on truth, accountability, respect for victims and survivors and a shared commitment to ensure that the crimes of the past are never repeated.

“Our region has a future to build together. This future must be European: rooted in peace, reconciliation, cooperation, mutual respect and unwavering respect for the memory of those who suffered from the horrors of war,” Hoxha wrote. /gj.m/r.e/p.s./

Speaking at the “Intelligence on the World, Europe and Italy” forum, in the “Agenda for Europe” panel, Rama also mentioned Serbia’s decision to send the “butcher of the Balkans” Ratko Mladic with state homage to his final resting place.

“I know that Serbia is a very interesting and strange ‘animal’ in the Balkan ‘jungle’. But what is better? To have it sitting around the table and tell it: “No, you cannot hold a state funeral for a butcher”, or to leave it there, in uncertain waters and create a completely schizophrenic situation between Europe, China, America, Russia and I don’t know who else, Vietnam”, said Rama.

Rama emphasized that this is his approach.

“What kind of political climate are we fostering? And on whose behalf are we acting—those who might withdraw into political extremes tomorrow? What is this paralyzing sentiment that ‘we are simply not in the mood’? For what? To honestly tell our citizens that the European Titanic is sinking and that we must urgently adapt to global competition? We speak of a unified common market, yet daily events within our borders prove that we are still operating as 27 fragmented markets. Where are Europe’s unified capital markets? Where is our collective financial sovereignty? You demand transparency and data. When it comes to Albania, you are welcome to audit everything; we have absolutely nothing to hide from Italy. Our historical misfortune was simply structural: instead of being integrated through Western channels, we were subjugated by Soviet influence. But that is a story for another time”, Rama added.

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