A finally convicted war criminal, Ratko Mladić will be buried in Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade with military honors on September 7th. This represents a new act of glorifying a person who was sentenced to life imprisonment before the international court for crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Svetozar Andrić, a member of a team organizing the funeral. Mladić’s mortal remains will be displayed in the Church of St. Mark in Vidikovac from 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM, after which a funeral procession will head toward Topčider Cemetery, where he will be buried beside his daughter Ana.
As announced, upon arrival at the cemetery, an honor guard unit will escort the remains to the burial site, followed by a gun salute and farewell speeches. The arrival of people from Serbia and the Republika Srpska entity has also been announced.
What is particularly controversial is that such treatment is organized for a man who was finally convicted before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws and customs of war committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, also reacted to the announced funeral and glorification of Mladić. She emphasized that Mladić was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. She stressed that the return of his mortal remains to Belgrade reminds Europe of the “darkest pages of our recent history.”
“The glorification following his death is incompatible with values on which the path to the EU is built. This path requires facing the past, true reconciliation and respect for the victims of war crimes,” Kos previously said.
Kos previously stated she will not make a planned visit to Serbia due to the glorification that followed Ratko Mladić’s death.
However, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, today stated that Serbia will “fittingly bury its people,” commenting on tomorrow’s burial of Mladić.
“We will preserve the dignity of our people, our citizens. I don’t care what Marta Kos or anybody else says, when I have Prigrevica and the citizens of Serbia by my side,” Vučić said.
Ratko Mladić was finally sentenced to life imprisonment by the ICTY for genocide, crimes against humanity, and violations of the laws or customs of war.
His responsibility includes crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including genocide in Srebrenica.
As a reminder, Vučić had previously announced he would not attend Ratko Mladić’s funeral scheduled for Monday, September 7th in Belgrade.
The President of Serbia said the President of Uzbekistan previously scheduled a visit for the same day, which will take up all of Monday and Tuesday.
“I have an official visit all day Monday and Tuesday; the President of Uzbekistan is coming. The visit was scheduled months ago,” Vučić said, adding that he had spoken with the Mladić family and that it was up to them to decide how to organize the funeral.
