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Thousands of people gathered in Belgrade on Monday for the funeral of Ratko Mladić, with a long procession carrying his coffin from a church to a cemetery as authorities provided security but stopped short of a full state event after international objections. According to Reuters, the gathering ranked among Serbia’s largest public burials since the fall of communism in 1990 and featured crowds carrying Serbian flags along with images of Mladić in traditional military attire. Al Jazeera reported that the coffin, draped in the Serbian flag, received military honors including a guard of soldiers while the Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Porfirije led the religious service. Bloomberg noted that the European Union had warned against any glorification of the convicted war criminal in the days leading up to the ceremony.
Mladić died last week at the age of 84 in a UN prison in The Hague where he was serving a life term after his conviction for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. A UN war crimes tribunal found him guilty for his central role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre that killed some 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys, an event described as the worst atrocity in Europe since World War Two. The Guardian reported that victims’ groups across Bosnia have condemned the public tributes, with one survivor of the Sarajevo siege telling Reuters the proceedings reopened painful memories of more than 1,000 children killed during the conflict.
Several Serbian government ministers attended the event despite earlier indications that no serving officials would participate, according to Euronews. Those present included Defence Minister Bratislav Gašić and Justice Minister Nenad Vujić along with President Aleksandar Vučić’s son Danilo, while officials from Bosnia’s Republika Srpska entity and Russia’s ambassador to Serbia also paid respects. Balkan Insight reported that Milorad Dodik, a leading Bosnian Serb politician, joined the mourners at the cemetery where Mladić was buried next to his daughter who died in 1994.
The EU issued a statement denouncing the glorification of a man convicted of such grave offenses, stressing that such actions have no place in an EU candidate country like Serbia. Reuters reported that Bosnia’s foreign minister announced the withdrawal of embassy staff from Belgrade in protest at the military escort and official participation. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, authorities have received more than 76,000 criminal reports related to the denial of genocide or glorification of war criminals in the past week, according to local prosecutors cited by multiple regional outlets.
Many in Serbia and Republika Srpska continue to view Mladić as a defender of Serb interests, a perspective that fueled vigils after his death and large crowds at the funeral where participants chanted his name. The BBC reported that war veterans and supporters draped in flags formed long queues outside St. Luke’s church as a choir performed and candles were lit throughout the morning. A local security assessment cited by Serbian media placed overall attendance above 150,000 people who arrived from across Serbia and Bosnia using free transport arranged for the occasion.
Free buses brought supporters from towns in Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska, amplifying participation in what Al Jazeera described as a hero’s burial for the former commander. The proceedings unfolded under tight police control around the church and cemetery in a Belgrade suburb, with no public statements issued by President Vučić who had earlier described the arrangements as a family matter while offering support for a dignified send-off.
