Thousands attend Mladic funeral in Belgrade despite EU criticism

Thousands of mourners gathered in Belgrade on Monday for the funeral of Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander convicted of genocide, as Serbia brushed aside European Union warnings against honoring one of Europe's most notorious war criminals.

Mladic, who died on August 27 at age 84 while serving a life sentence at The Hague, was buried at Topcider Cemetery beside his daughter following a funeral service officiated by Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije at the Church of St. Luke. Police estimated around 8,000 people in the procession outside the church, with free bus services offered from across Serbia and Bosnia's Republika Srpska.democrata+3

Military Honors and Political Presence

Though Serbian authorities described the funeral as a private family affair, the event bore the hallmarks of a state ceremony. Mladic's coffin, draped in Serbian and Republika Srpska flags, had been flown to Belgrade on a government plane on September 3 and carried by soldiers. Pro-government media reported he received full military honors.cnn+2

Senior officials from both Serbia and Republika Srpska attended, including Serbian Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic, Justice Minister Nenad Vujic, and Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic, along with Republika Srpska President Sinisa Karan and Prime Minister Savo Minic. President Aleksandar Vucic did not attend, citing a previously scheduled visit by Uzbekistan's president.intellinews+1

Patriarch Porfirije acknowledged the weight of the occasion, saying Mladic's figure "cannot be separated from a terrible era, from a terrible war, from great suffering and from deep wounds and traumas."democrata

EU Tensions and Regional Backlash

The funeral deepened a rift between Serbia and Brussels. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos canceled a planned visit to Serbia, stating that "the glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built." The Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Michael O'Flaherty, also condemned the public tributes.telegraph+2

Vucic dismissed the criticism, accusing Kos of "lying" and intensifying anti-Western rhetoric ahead of an expected early parliamentary election next month. Serbia has been an EU candidate since 2012, but accession talks have stalled over democratic backsliding and Belgrade's refusal to join sanctions against Russia.clickorlando+2

Painful Memories

In Sarajevo, the funeral reopened wounds from a war that killed more than 100,000 people. Zdravka Gvozdjar, whose nine-year-old son was killed during the siege of Sarajevo by forces under Mladic's command, said he "should be remembered only as a butcher."news.yahoo

Denis Becirovic, chairman of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, called the funeral "an act of identification by Serbia's leadership with one of the worst killers in European history," warning of "unforeseeable consequences for the future of the entire region."telegraph