Thousands attend Bosnian Serb war criminal's funeral in Belgrade despite EU warnings

Thousands of individuals congregated in Belgrade, Serbia, to pay their respects to the late Ratko Mladic, a former Bosnian Serb commander and convicted war criminal, at his funeral on Monday. Mladic had passed away the previous week while incarcerated for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Despite his convictions for his involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre and the 43-month siege of Sarajevo, where around 10,000 people lost their lives, Mladic remains an admired figure among some Serbs.

Upon arriving at the church where Mladic's funeral was held, mourners carried Serbian flags and portraits of the deceased, lighting candles in his honor. The free bus services that had been offered from Bosnia and various locations in Serbia to facilitate people's attendance had been well-utilized. Mladic's coffin was showcased inside the church, with six men, primarily war veterans from Serbia and Bosnia, standing guard. Mladic's family, including his wife, son, and grandchildren, were present to receive condolences.

Belgrade resident Jovan Vincic, who attended the funeral, expressed his sentiments, stating that only time would reveal the true nature of Mladic's character. The funeral activities have reignited discussions about the breakup of Yugoslavia and the subsequent ethnic conflicts in the Balkans. Mladic was convicted by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for his role in the Srebrenica massacre, during which approximately 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed, and for the prolonged siege of Sarajevo, which resulted in the deaths of around 10,000 individuals.

The European Union's enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, had postponed her trip to Serbia due to what she perceived as the glorification of Mladic following his death, including the use of a government plane to transport his remains back to Serbia. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had dismissed these allegations but remained uncertain about his attendance at the funeral.

The service, presided over by the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, was set to commence at noon, followed by Mladic's burial in a cemetery adjacent to his deceased daughter, who had passed away in 1994. In Sarajevo, the funeral further stirred up bitter memories of the war, with retired pharmacist Zdravka Gvozdjar, whose 9-year-old son was killed during the Sarajevo siege by Mladic's forces, lamenting the glorification of Mladic and calling for him to be remembered as a "butcher" rather than a hero.