Thousands of mourners flooded the streets of Belgrade to pay their respects to Ratko Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb general who died at 84 while serving a life sentence for genocide.
Mladić, infamously dubbed the 'Butcher of Bosnia,' was convicted by a UN tribunal for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where approximately 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were slaughtered. Despite his status as a convicted war criminal, Mladić remains a polarizing figure, viewed by many Serbian nationalists as a heroic defender of their nation.
The funeral service, led by Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, saw attendance from high-ranking Serbian officials, including Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić and Justice Minister Nenad Vujić.
The event was marked by displays of nationalistic fervor, with veterans and supporters gathering to honor the man responsible for the siege of Sarajevo and widespread ethnic cleansing. The European Union swiftly denounced the proceedings, stating that the glorification of war criminals and genocide denial have no place in any nation aspiring to join the EU.
While the UN tribunal established a definitive historical record of Mladić's atrocities, the spectacle in Belgrade highlights the deep-seated refusal within parts of Serbian society to reckon with the brutal reality of the 1990s Bosnian war.
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