On Monday 7 September, large crowds gathered in Belgrade to pay their respects before the coffin or Ratko Mladić. Mladić, former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, convicted to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina died in detention on August 27. He was arrested in 2011 in Serbia after 16 years on the run.
In Serbia, parliamentary elections will be held shortly: President Aleksandar Vučić just announced they would take place on 25 October. The elections come almost two years after the collapse of the canopy at Novi Sad railway station, that triggered the massive protests of 2025, led by the student movement. The students’ protests crystallized into a call for early elections. The upcoming elections are dividing the country and increasingly resemble a referendum on the record of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and President Vučić.
Almost every event in Serbia is being interpreted in light of the electoral contest, including Mladić’s death. Just a few days before, Serbia had asked the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals to allow Mladić to return to Serbia so he could spend his final days with his family, offering a state flight, announcing that Mladić would be treated at the Military Medical Academy, and pledging to comply with all the Mechanism’s requirements.
Such requests, when convicted persons have shown genuine remorse, which was not the case with Mladić, have sometimes been granted, mainly on humanitarian grounds. In this case, however, the request was refused.
The issue of official honours raised straight away
On the day of Mladić’s death, few official voices were heard. Belgrade’s mayor, Aleksandar Šapić, of the SNS, wished him “eternal glory” and thanked Mladić in a tweet. Former Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin, known for his closeness to the Kremlin, pointed out that, like Gavrilo Princip, Serbia’s best sons are always killed while in prison, adding that Serbia should grant Mladić the honours of a state funeral. Vojislav Šešelj too — a war criminal convicted of crimes against humanity and released after serving his sentence — revived the theory that Mladić had been killed in prison because he had been denied the necessary medical care.
If such statements were in some sense to be expected, the news that truly caused a stir was an interview given by Serbian Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić’s, to the local Serb-Bosnian broadcaster ATV the day after the death. Vujić said that Mladić would be buried with the highest state honours, though the final decision would in any case rest with the family. The statement caused deep shock and was quickly picked up by the foreign press, since it made unmistakably clear what Serbia’s official position was regarding the crimes committed in the Bosnian war, and in particular the Srebrenica genocide.
Mladic was “killed by the Hague tribunal”
That evening, President Vučić partially backtracked: while criticizing the Residual Mechanism, saying “there was a wish that Mladić die behind bars,” he also specified that the funeral arrangements would depend solely on the family’s wishes, and appealed for an end to the speculation. That same evening, the European Commission, in an interview with Radio Free Europe stated that while it is for the Serbian authorities to decide what role they will play in Mladić’s funeral, the glorification of war criminals runs counter to the fundamental values of the European Union, and that there is no room for such glorification among candidate countries.
While the ruling party remained silent, as often, it was the pro-government tabloids that used the most inflammatory rhetoric, reviving the theory that Mladić had been murdered. The tabloid Informer, through its editor-in-chief, wrote that “the real news is not that Ratko Mladić has died, but that he was killed by the Hague tribunal. This is a terrorist organization, whose purpose is to condemn Serbs for genocide, and it has now killed the general.” If Informer was the most explicit, other pro-government media took similar positions, albeit in a somewhat more moderate tone. The tabloids, as well as state television, have routinely presented Mladić as a Serbian general, without any reference to his conviction.
In Serbia’s media landscape, such positions have by now become a fixed reality. The tabloids also seized the opportunity to try to discredit the student movement, reporting claims that the “blokaderi” — as last year’s protest sympathizers are called — had celebrated Mladić’s death.
“Genocide”, a word that remains taboo in Serbia
Some opposition parties did take a stance, however. The Zeleno Levi Front (Green-Left Front) and the Pokret Slobodnih Gradjana (Movement of Free Citizens) were the most explicit, specifically mentioning the crimes committed by Mladić, including the Srebrenica “genocide” — a word that remains taboo for many in Serbia. Also condemnatory, though in more measured terms, were the positions of the Stranka za Slobode i Pravde (Party of Freedom and Justice) and of the Demokratska Stranka (Democratic Party), which stressed that Mladić should not serve as a model for future generations, and that in any case the death of an individual does not change the facts established by an international tribunal.
The non-governmental organizations that most closely follow war-crimes issues, such as the Fond za Humanitarno Pravo (Humanitarian Law Center), pointed out that in recent years Serbia has not only failed to distance itself from the crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but has pursued a policy aimed at celebrating and defending those crimes. Unequivocal condemnation also came from the Evropski Pokret Srbija (European Movement in Serbia), which condemned outright the idea of state funeral honours. The Žene u crnom (Women in Black) movement took a similar position, stating that a funeral with state honours amounts to a form of endorsement of the crimes committed.
The student movement did not issue an official statement. Some of its representatives commented on social media that “a war criminal, guilty of genocide, has died,” a remark that was enough to trigger blame from the tabloids. Similarly, criticism of the government’s conduct came from the citizens’ assembly of Novi Pazar, a town with a Bosniak majority, which said it was unacceptable to glorify a war criminal.
People did not take the streets for Mladic
Before the funeral, public demonstrations, however, have been notably absent. With the exception of Red Star supporters, who held a torchlit gathering on Brankov Most the same evening, unfurling a large banner at the Belgrade stadium, and some similar episodes in Novi Sad, people did not take to the streets for Mladić; there were no shows of support comparable to those seen in Republika Srpska, the Serb-majority entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nor did posters in support of the general appear, as they regularly do every 11 July to mark the Srebrenica genocide anniversary.
In this sense, the only public “appearance” of Mladić’s supporters took place in Užice on Saturday, 29 August. A rally of the SNS was scheduled for that day, attended by President Vučić himself. Before the rally the centre of Užice had been closed off for the event, and the trouble began when SNS security tried to clear out the cafés to make way for the meeting. In one of the videos, a group of people can be seen chasing and beating a man violently. Police intervened and put an end to the incident. Among the attackers, two people can be seen wearing the same jacket, evidently issued to SNS supporters: on the back of the jacket, a photograph of Mladić is clearly visible, linking once again violence and politics to his figure.
Military honours, but no State honours
Eventually the format of the funeral became clear: although the government refrained from organising a state funeral, President Vučić stated that Serbia was ready to provide “logistical, transport and other support” and there were going to be military honours but no State honours. The EU Commissioner for enlargement Marta Kos wrote on X that the glorification of war criminals is “incompatible with the values the EU was built upon” and decided to cancel her visit to Belgrade. Vučić reply was that her “explanation was very short, but stupid, as usual”.
When Mladić body was flown back on a state airplane, six soldiers carried the flag draped casket from the plane to the vehicle: during the transport back to Belgrade, police and military officers stopped and saluted the motorcade, while people gathered on the bridges with banners of support. On Saturday 5 September, a commemoration was held at the Army house in central Belgrade.
The funeral itself took place on Monday and Mladić was buried in his family grave, next to his daughter Ana. A salvo was fired by a military guard. President Vučić didn’t attend it, officially due to a visit of the President of Uzbekistan, however the funeral was attended by his son Danilo, the state ministries of Justice and Defence, and the Patriarch of the Orthodox Church. A large delegation came from the Republika Srpska, including its President and Prime Minister. Busloads of veterans came from Bosnia and Herzegovina and attended the event as well as thousands private individuals.
It is estimated that 16,000 people attended it.
“Serbia’s failure to confront a dark chapter of Europe’s history”
Although the funeral didn’t fulfil the definition of a state funeral, the engagement and profile of the Serbian authorities suggested exactly the contrary and provoked nearly unanimous condemnation in Western Europe. After some hesitation, strong criticism came from the highest EU officials, Antionio Costa and Ursula von der Leyen, who published identical statements and called the presence of state officials at the funeral as “deeply regrettable” and deplored “Serbia’s failure to confront a dark chapter of Europe’s recent history”.
The relations between Serbia and the EU turned tense in view of the upcoming enlargement discussions, which should take place in the autumn, but the leading party in Serbia seems to be focusing more on the upcoming elections rather than on the EU path. Mladić’s funeral for many sounded like another attempt at rallying support for the leading party.
