PRISTINA – Decision to appoint Vladimir Lazarevic, a general who was convicted of war crimes, as a lecturer at the Serb military academy is against EU principles, told a spokesperson of European Commission Federica Mogherini, Maja Kocijančič to Gazzeta Express.
“EU expects political leaders to honour the victims of the past conflicts and sincerely promote reconciliation in the Western Balkans.”
Kocijančič also exlained that political leaders have to lead all efforts in overcoming the difficult legacy of the past and constructively foster mutual trust, dialogue and tolerance.
“Serbia, as a candidate country, cannot deviate from these principles, while the appointment of a convicted war criminal to the Serbian Military Academy goes exactly against these principles.” stressed Kocijančič.
These reaction of EU spokesperson come after Vladimir Lazarevic, former commander of the Pristina Corpus and Third Army of the Yugoslav Army, has been appointed to teach at the Serbian Military Academy despite being sentenced to 14 years in prison by the Hague Tribunal for atrocities committed against the Albanians. Lazarevic gave his first lecture on Friday at the Military Academy in Belgrade sharing his experience in Kosovo and war against NATO, recalls Gazzeta Express.