Serbia Defies EU, Pays Tribute to Convicted War Criminal Mladic

The body of Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian Serb military commander convicted of genocide and other war crimes, lay in state in Belgrade on Monday, as Serbia proceeded with public honours that have drawn sharp criticism from the European Union.

Thousands of mourners gathered at the Church of St. Luke to pay their respects. His coffin, draped in the national flag and flanked by soldiers, bore his officer's cap and saber. Pro-government media reported that full military honours would be rendered, with the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, leading the funeral service.

Mladic, who died in August at the age of 84 while serving a life sentence in The Hague, remains a hero to many Serbs. One mourner, Milan Dobric, who travelled from Kosovo, described him as a man who gave everything for the Serbian people.

The Serbian government facilitated the return of his remains, sending a plane to collect them and holding a military commemoration. This public veneration has prompted a backlash, with EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos cancelling a planned visit to Belgrade, stating the glorification of Mladic is incompatible with the values of the EU path. Serbia is a candidate for EU membership.

President Aleksandar Vucic, who has dismissed the EU criticism, was not attending the funeral. The event comes ahead of an early parliamentary election, as Vucic has intensified his anti-Western rhetoric.

Mladic was found guilty of orchestrating the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of over 8,000 Muslim men and boys, the siege of Sarajevo, and other crimes during the Bosnian war. Serbia has not recognised the Srebrenica killings as genocide, and this tribute follows a pattern of honouring convicted war criminals, including the burial of army chief Nebojsa Pavkovic with military honours last year.