Convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladić was buried in Belgrade on Monday in a lavish funeral that drew international condemnation, reopening deep wounds over the legacy of the wars that tore apart Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Thousands of mourners gathered to pay their respects to Mladić, who died last week while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Crowds carrying Serbian flags and pictures of Mladić wearing a traditional Serbian military cap gathered outside the church in a Belgrade suburb where the head of the country's Orthodox church, Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, presided over the service. Mladić's coffin, surrounded by armed soldiers in fatigues and accompanied by a brass band, was then paraded through streets thronged with onlookers, who chanted his name. He was buried at a nearby cemetery next to his daughter, who died in 1994. It was one of the biggest public funerals in Serbia since the fall of communism in 1990 and showed how revered Mladić remains among many in Serbia and in Bosnia's autonomous Serb Republic. "He is a hero," Đorđe, a 34-year-old man who came from Prijepolje to pay respects to Mladić, said. "He was a great military strategist." Difficult history Mladić's death has stirred up strong feelings linking back to the break-up of Yugoslavia and the ethnic conflicts that ensued in the Balkans. Mladić was found guilty by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which about 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed after Bosnian Serb forces overran the UN-designated enclave. He was also convicted over the 43-month siege of Sarajevo, during which about 10,000 people were killed. Last week, EU enlargement commissioner Marta Kos postponed her visit to Serbia, which is a candidate country to join the bloc, because of what she said was the "glorification" of Mladić after his death, including the use of a government plane to return him to Serbia. "The Western Balkan armed conflicts of the 1990s were among Europe’s darkest moments in its recent history," an EU spokesperson said in a statement on Monday. "Any glorification of war criminals, genocide denial and revisionism contradict the most fundamental European values and have no place in the EU or in EU candidate countries." Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who dismissed Kos’ statement last week, did not attend the funeral. However, his son Danilo attended, along with Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić and Justice Minister Nenad Vujić. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković said on Monday that the country would withdraw all embassy staff from Belgrade whom the ministry had the authority to recall, transfer consular services to its embassies in Zagreb and Podgorica and to its consulate general in Novi Pazar, and suspend bilateral meetings. Konaković also said Bosnia and Herzegovina would reduce communication with Serbia to the lowest possible level and intensify diplomatic engagement with the European Union and its member states, the United States, the United Kingdom and member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Croatia's foreign minister, Gordan Grlić Radman, condemned the glorification of Mladić, saying it was incompatible with European Union values and an insult to victims and survivors. ‘Disgrace’ The Srebrenica Mothers, an association representing survivors and families of victims of the 1995 massacre, said on X that the funeral threatened to become "the biggest fascist gathering in Europe in the past 70 years." "Glorifying genocide is not a tribute, it is a disgrace. Institutions, act!" the group said, addressing Kos. Mladić's legacy was also celebrated at football matches in Serbia. On Sunday, fans of Belgrade's Crvena Zvezda and Partizan observed a minute of silence for Mladić before their 180th "Eternal Derby". Crvena Zvezda supporters displayed a large banner featuring Mladić, while fans of both clubs chanted his name. In Sarajevo, meanwhile, the funeral rekindled painful memories of the war. "It is really horrible that this is taking place there (in Belgrade) because I know there are normal people who are against it," said Zdravka Gvožđar, a retired pharmacist whose nine-year-old son was killed during the Sarajevo siege by a grenade fired by Mladić-led forces, one among more than 1,000 children killed in the city. "Mladić ... only deserved to be erased from memory for good, not to be ... promoted as a hero," she said. "He should be remembered only as a butcher." (This story includes reporting by Reuters)
