Prosecution investigates to whom “Đenerale, đenerale” was sung in Bar: Church says “we celebrated the cathedral, not Mladić”

The Basic State Prosecutor’s Office in Bar is investigating whether the choir “Fenečki biseri” really sang to war criminal Ratko Mladić at a concert held last Saturday at the Dom Kulture in Bar, marking the 10th anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral of St. Jovan Vladimir, the daily Vijesti reports. Videos have circulated on social media in which the verses “Đenerale, đenerale, nek’ je tvojoj majci hvala” can be heard — a stanza with which Mladić, sentenced to life in The Hague for genocide, has been celebrated this month.

The parish priest of the Bar cathedral, Slobodan Zeković, denies the investigation’s version to Vijesti. According to him, the concert did not end with that song and the celebration was only for the cathedral’s jubilee, not for glorifying crimes. Zeković says the song “Đenerale, đenerale” has been sung for years and is dedicated, according to him, to former police official Veljko Radenović, nicknamed “General” — not to Ratko Mladić.

Reactions have not been lacking. According to Vijesti, the president of the Bar Municipal Assembly and European Alliance MP Branislav Nenezić called on “generals and vojvodas” to “bypass the European Bar,” while the local committee of the Bosniak Party said that glorifying a war criminal is “something with which this society cannot move forward.” The Bar Cultural Center, on the other hand, said it cannot be held responsible for the content of programs organized by others.

The jubilee events were held on Friday and Saturday (September 25 and 26): on Friday the monograph “Dugo očekivani dan” was presented, while on Saturday the liturgy was served with Metropolitan Joanikije and three other bishops, Vijesti writes. The prosecution must now determine whether the verses sung at the concert constitute the criminal offense of glorifying war crimes.