„Funeral of a war criminal as a mirror of a lost society and a powerless Europe“

War criminal Ratko Mladić, who died in The Hague while serving a life sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity, was buried today at the Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade with military honours, N1 Belgrade reports.

Thousands of citizens gathered outside the Church of St Luke in Belgrade’s Vidikovac neighbourhood to pay tribute to war criminal Ratko Mladić.

Among those who paid tribute to Mladić were several ministers from the Serbian government - Nikola Selaković (Minister of Culture), Darko Glišić (Minister of Public Investments), Bratislav Gašić (Minister of Defence), Nenad Vujić (Minister of Justice) and Nenad Popović (Minister without Portfolio). N1 also reported, citing what it described as pro-government media, that Danilo Vučić, the son of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, and Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko were present. Aleksandar Vulin, a member of the Senate of the Republika Srpska entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was also there. Milorad Dodik, leader of the ruling coalition in the Republika Srpska entity, also attended, along with Željka Cvijanović, the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Banja Luka Mayor Draško Stanivuković. The memorial service was conducted by Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije Perić.

The Democratic People’s Party (DPP) said that members of its delegation had paid tribute to „general Ratko Mladić“. The delegation included Montenegrin MP Vladislav Bojović, Zeta Municipality President Mihailo Asanović, and Mirko Knežević, the brother of DPP leader Milan Knežević.

The Novi Sad City Assembly also paid tribute to Mladić at the beginning of today’s session. The motion was proposed by Serbian Progressive Party councillor Nedeljko Klisurić and received the support of 46 fellow councillors, while councillors from opposition parties left the chamber and did not take part in the session of the Novi Sad assembly.

A manifestation of denial

In an article titled „Funeral of a war criminal as a mirror of a lost society and a powerless Europe“, Klix.ba writes that Serbia did not declare Ratko Mladić’s funeral a state funeral, but that, in substance, the state did almost everything that would accompany such an event. It argues that the death of the war criminal could have been Serbia’s final opportunity to draw a clear line between respect for the dead and the glorification of a man convicted by a final judgment of genocide.

- Instead, his return from The Hague and preparations for the funeral have been turned into yet another manifestation of denial, historical revisionism and an insult to the victims - the Klix article states.

Mladić’s body, it recalls, was transported on a Serbian government aircraft, the coffin was draped in a flag, state and military representatives took part in the reception, and a commemoration was held at the House of the Army.

- The line between a private funeral and a state honour ceremony has thus been deliberately blurred. The authorities have retained the ability to present themselves to the domestic public as protectors of Mladić’s ‘legacy and deeds’, while telling Brussels that they did not organise a state ceremony - the article states.

This is best illustrated, it says, by the conduct of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. He will not attend Mladić’s funeral, citing previously scheduled state obligations. He did not attend the commemoration either, but publicly stated that he had done everything to ensure that the final farewell would take place „with dignity“.

- Vučić had previously criticised the Hague Tribunal for not allowing Mladić to spend his final days in Serbia, describing its treatment of him as „uncivilised“, while he dismissed European Commissioner Marta Kos’s decision to cancel her visit to Belgrade because of the glorification of a war criminal as „stupid“ - Klix recalls.

An even more explicit message came from the stands of Red Star Belgrade’s stadium during last night’s match against Partizan. Fans unfurled a large banner featuring Mladić’s image and the words „Head for Potočari“ („Pravac Potočari“), referring to words he uttered after entering Srebrenica in July 1995.

The Croatian portal Index.hr reports that thousands of people gathered to „see the coffin“ of Ratko Mladić, the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska and a war criminal convicted by a final judgment, who was to be buried at Topčider Cemetery.

The portal also reported on the reaction of the Mothers of Srebrenica Association to the „Head for Potočari“ banner displayed at the Partizan-Red Star football match alongside an image of Ratko Mladić.

The association said that this represented „a revival of Chetnik ideology“.

 - Today, Potočari have their guardians - the Mothers of Srebrenica. Never again will Chetnik ideology set foot in Potočari - the association said.

In a subsequent statement, they warned that the burial of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić in Belgrade could „threaten to become the largest fascist gathering in Europe in the last 70 years“ and called on European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos to respond.

The most inhumane crimes

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Representative on Freedom of the Media today expressed serious concern over the live broadcast of the commemoration on Radio Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS), during which speakers repeatedly glorified Mladić.

BH Telecom removed the signal of the Public Broadcasting Service of Republika Srpska (RTRS) from its cable platform. RTRS had been broadcasting special programming dedicated to Mladić’s funeral since the morning.

US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chuck Grassley, along with Congressman Keith Self, called on the governments of Serbia and Republika Srpska to refrain from any association with today’s funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić and to ensure that he is not honoured through any public statement or official act.

In a joint statement, as reported by Radio Free Europe, the senators recalled Mladić’s responsibility for genocide and other crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, stressing that these crimes together represent some of the most inhumane atrocities committed on European soil since the Second World War.

- Ratko Mladić was a war criminal and the architect of the genocide in Srebrenica, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed. His forces were also responsible for the nearly four-year siege of Sarajevo, one of the longest sieges in modern history. His actions collectively represent some of the most inhumane crimes committed on European soil since the Second World War - the joint statement said.

Former Republika Srpska Army General Ratko Mladić, RFE/RL recalls, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Hague tribunal after being found guilty of genocide in Srebrenica, persecution and forcible transfer of populations, terrorising civilians during the siege of Sarajevo, and taking United Nations peacekeepers hostage.

In 2021, Mladić was convicted on 10 of the 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Hague Tribunal found Mladić guilty of genocide committed against approximately 8,000 Bosniaks in Srebrenica, a UN-protected zone, in the summer of 1995.

Mladić was found guilty of a joint criminal enterprise aimed at the permanent removal of Bosnian Muslims and Croats through the crimes of persecution, extermination, murder, forcible transfer as an inhumane act, and deportation.

The former commander of the Republika Srpska Army was found guilty of a joint criminal enterprise in Sarajevo, involving the spread of terror among the civilian population through sniper fire and shelling, as well as the killing, terrorising and unlawful attacks on civilians.

He was also found guilty of a joint criminal enterprise involving the taking of hostages, in connection with the capture of UN personnel and their detention at strategic military locations with the aim of preventing further NATO air strikes against Bosnian Serb military targets.

He was acquitted of the charge of genocide committed in six municipalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 - Prijedor, Sanski Most, Ključ, Kotor Varoš, Foča and Vlasenica.

J. B.