Serbia gives state honors to convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić's funeral
Serbia turned the September 7 funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić into a state event with military honors attended by six ministers, drawing sharp EU condemnation and jeopardizing its path toward EU membership.
On September 7, Belgrade hosted the funeral of former Bosnian Serb army general Ratko Mladić, which Serbian authorities turned into a state event with full military ceremony. Mladić, known as the "Butcher of Bosnia," was sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for genocide against Bosniaks and Croats and other war crimes, including the mass killing of civilians in Srebrenica. He died in custody while serving his sentence.
The ceremony was attended by six ministers from Serbia's government and Danilo Vučić, son of President Aleksandar Vučić, while the president himself avoided attending, spending the day instead accompanying the visiting president of Uzbekistan. The coffin, draped in flags, was escorted by an honor guard and police convoy, while banners reading "Mladić is our hero" appeared across the city. A delegation from the Russian embassy in Belgrade also attended. The organization Mothers of Srebrenica called the event the largest fascist gathering in Europe in the past 70 years.
EU reaction
A European Commission spokesperson stated that glorifying war criminals contradicts core EU values. EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos canceled her planned visit to Serbia, and a planned visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen may also be affected. The United States also condemned the event, as did the governments of Croatia and Slovenia, which said the funeral effectively closes the door to EU membership for Serbia.
Election connection
On the same day, Serbia's prime minister asked President Vučić to call early parliamentary elections, tentatively set for October 25. Analysts say the glorification of Mladić serves Vučić as a tool to shore up support among right-conservative voters, amid nearly two years of anti-government protests and a growing challenge from the Student Movement, his main rival in the polls.
