Serbia Pays Tribute to Convicted War Criminal Mladic, Ignoring EU Warnings

Thousands of mourners gathered in Belgrade on Monday to pay their respects to Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander who died while serving a life sentence for genocide and other war crimes. The event proceeded despite explicit warnings from the European Union against any official homage to a man found guilty of orchestrating the worst atrocities in Europe since World War II.

The coffin of Mladic, draped with his military officer's cap and sabre, lay in state at the small Serbian Orthodox Church of St. Luke. Serbian soldiers in fatigues flanked the casket as a long queue of people filed past, many lighting candles outside the church.

For many Serbs, Mladic remains a hero, a sentiment starkly at odds with his conviction by the United Nations tribunal for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Mourners expressed their reverence openly. Radenko Matic, a resident, recalled Mladic as "my commander, and a great man and a soldier." Another mourner, Draginja Pejic, credited him with the creation of Republika Srpska, saying, "If it weren't for Ratko Mladic, there would be no Republika Srpska."

Milan Dobric, who traveled from Kosovo, praised Mladic as "a man who gave everything in his life for Serbian people in Kosovo, in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia," and expressed satisfaction that people were turning out to honor him.

The scenes in Belgrade underscore the deep divisions that persist over Mladic's legacy, even as international bodies and the EU continue to condemn his actions and the glorification of his memory.