Serbian Funeral Amid EU Warnings
Ratko Mladic lies in state in Belgrade as Serbia defies EU warnings.
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Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb commander convicted of war crimes, lay in state in Belgrade as Serbia defied European Union warnings against honoring him. AP News reported thousands of mourners gathered at the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Luke to pay respects to a man many Serbs still view as a hero, despite his life sentence for genocide and atrocities.
Serbia's government sent a plane to transport Mladic's remains to the capital, a move that underscores the country's fraught relationship with its war crimes past. As an EU candidate nation, Serbia faces mounting pressure to reckon with the Srebrenica genocide and other atrocities — yet it continues to honor those convicted of orchestrating them.
Thousands Gather to Honor a Convicted War Criminal
The Independent documented that thousands of mourners filled the Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Luke in Belgrade to pay tribute to Mladic. Patriarch Porfirije, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, led the funeral arrangements. The turnout reflected the deep divide over Mladic's legacy: many Serbs view him as a national hero, while survivors of the Bosnian war and the international community see him as a symbol of ethnic cleansing and mass murder.
EU Warnings Fall Flat as Serbia Moves Forward
The European Union explicitly warned Serbia against public displays of honor for Mladic, but the country proceeded anyway. WRAL noted that Serbia's government took the extraordinary step of sending a state plane to bring his body home. This defiance signals how little weight Brussels's concerns carry in Belgrade, especially on issues tied to national identity and the Bosnian war.
Mladic's Life Sentence and Srebrenica's Disputed Legacy
Ratko Mladic died in prison while serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian conflict. Winnipeg Free Press reported that Mladic oversaw the Srebrenica massacre, in which Bosnian Serb forces killed over 8,000 Muslim civilians. Yet Serbia continues to deny or downplay the genocide, and many Serbs honor Mladic as a patriotic figure rather than a mass murderer.
A Candidate Nation at Odds With Its Obligations
Serbia's EU membership bid requires it to fully acknowledge past atrocities and hold perpetrators accountable. Yet the state-sponsored funeral arrangements and public mourning for Mladic suggest the government has not truly reckoned with the war's legacy. AJC highlighted the contradiction: Serbia wants to join Europe while simultaneously honoring those convicted of some of Europe's worst crimes since World War II.
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