Ratko Mladić to Be Buried in Belgrade Without State Honors

Ratko Mladić will be buried in Belgrade without state or military honors, despite an earlier announcement from Serbia’s justice minister that the former Bosnian Serb army commander would receive “all military and state honors.” Serbian officials will not attend the funeral, scheduled for Monday, Sept. 7.

President Aleksandar Vučić, the prime minister and the speaker of parliament are expected to stay away. There will be no artillery salute or ceremonial military guard, and Mladić will not be buried on the Alley of Greats or the Alley of Honorary Citizens, despite requests for such a burial. Thousands of people are expected to attend.

Mladić died the previous week while serving a life sentence. His remains were flown from The Hague to Serbia on a government aircraft. Soldiers removed the coffin, wrapped in the national flag, and carried it to an unmarked burgundy van, which police then escorted along Belgrade’s main highway.

The flight carried Justice Minister Nenad Vujić, Mladić’s son Darko and two of his former military aides. His body was taken to a military hospital in Belgrade for an autopsy. The family said the coffin would be placed on Monday morning in a church near Košutnjak cemetery before the burial later that day.

The family also announced that Mladić would be buried beside his daughter, who died by suicide in the 1990s. On Saturday, a ceremony for the former commander took place at the Serbian Army House in Belgrade. A reserve generals’ association organized the event, while serving officials did not attend.

Mladić became one of the most controversial figures of the Bosnian war, which began after Bosnia declared independence in early 1992. The Bosnian Serb leadership, backed by Slobodan Milošević’s government in Belgrade, established its own state. The military offensive led by Mladić sought to expand Bosnian Serb-controlled territory and remove Bosniak and Croat populations from areas claimed by the Bosnian Serbs. He was convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

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all military and state honors