DistantNews
Support us
🇱🇹 Lithuania /Conflict & Security

Belgrade honors convicted war criminal Mladić before funeral

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News From a news agency Outcome reported
  • About 300 people attended a Belgrade memorial ceremony for Ratko Mladić, who died while serving a sentence for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war.
  • Speakers praised Mladić, despite his conviction for genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which about 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed.
  • Mladić's funeral is scheduled for Monday, with thousands of mourners expected despite international condemnation.

About 300 people gathered in Belgrade on Saturday to honor Ratko Mladić, the convicted war criminal whose funeral is scheduled for Monday. The ceremony took place two days before his burial and brought together former military personnel, relatives and officials.

Mladić died last week in The Hague after suffering several strokes while serving a prison sentence for crimes committed during the 1990s war in Bosnia. His remains were flown back to Serbia on Thursday aboard a government aircraft, with the coffin covered in flags and received with military honors.

an exceptional person both as a man and as a soldier

· Ceremony speakersThey praised Mladić's role in the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The ceremony was organized by an association of active and retired Serbian generals. Mladić's son Darko and other family members attended, along with Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujić and officials from Republika Srpska, including its president, Siniša Karan. Dozens of supporters gathered outside the Serbian Army House after the hall filled. Some carried flags or wore shirts showing Mladić in uniform beneath the words "Serbian hero".

Serbian hero

· Mladić supportersThe words appeared on shirts worn by some supporters outside the ceremony.

Speakers praised his role in the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina, calling him "an exceptional person both as a man and as a soldier". International coverage gave him the nickname "the Butcher of Bosnia" for atrocities committed during the breakup of Yugoslavia.

A United Nations tribunal in The Hague convicted Mladić of genocide over the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which about 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed in a United Nations-protected zone. Despite those convictions, some Serbs, particularly in Republika Srpska, continue to revere him. Retired Bosnian and Herzegovinian general Živomir Ninković told the ceremony, "Thank you, Ratko Mladić, for the existence of Republika Srpska" and said it would not exist without him.

Thank you, Ratko Mladić, for the existence of Republika Srpska

· Živomir NinkovićThe retired Bosnian and Herzegovinian general praised Mladić during the memorial ceremony.
About this summary

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog