BELGRADE – President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen stated today that the images from the funeral of Ratko Mladić, convicted for genocide and war crimes were shocking, and that the elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral in Belgrade are deeply regrettable.
“The images from Ratko Mladić’s funeral yesterday in Belgrade were shocking. Ratko Mladić was a convicted war criminal. He was responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. He died while serving a life sentence for the Srebrenica genocide and other crimes. The elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable. They demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe’s recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia’s path towards the European Union”, she wrote in an X post.
According to Ursula von der Leyen, “our thoughts are with all the victims of the crimes committed in the countries of former Yugoslavia”.
The Archive of Public Meetings, organization which has been estimating the attendance of public gatherings since 1991, stated that as many as 16,000 people attended the funeral of Mladić.
Convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić was buried yesterday at Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade, with the full military honors. The coffin was covered with the flags of Serbia and Republika Srpska, and escorted to the grave site by an honorary unit of the Serbian Army, after which honorary firing and farewell speeches were held.
The funeral service for Mladić, the wartime commander of the army of Republika Srpska, sentenced to life imprisonment by The Hague Tribunal for genocide and other war crimes during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was served in the Church of St. Luke, in the presence of state officials of Serbia and Republika Srpska. The service was led by the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church Porfirije.
Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić, Minister of Public Investments Darko Glišić, Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić and Minister without portfolio Nenad Popović expressed condolences to members of Mladić’s family at the church. Funeral service was also attended by the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željka Cvijanović, Prime Minister of RS Savo Minić, President of RS Siniša Karan, Speaker of National Assembly of RS Nenad Stevandić, Banja Luka Mayor Draško Stanivuković, as well as the President of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats and former RS President Milorad Dodik.
Among the attendees were the Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Aleksandar Bocan-Kharchenko, as well as the BiH Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandar Vranješ. A large number of citizens were gathered in front of the Church of St. Luke.
