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🇷🇸 Serbia /Conflict & Security

Regional media: The line between Mladić’s private funeral and a state tribute was deliberately blurred

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

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

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • Regional media argue that Serbia blurred the distinction between a private funeral and an official tribute for convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.
  • President Aleksandar Vučić did not attend but said he had done everything to ensure a dignified farewell, while state infrastructure supported the event.
  • Survivors’ groups condemned symbols honoring Mladić as a revival of Chetnik ideology and an insult to victims.

Serbia did not declare a state funeral for Ratko Mladić, but regional media say the state did almost everything normally associated with one. The distinction between a private ceremony and an official tribute was deliberately blurred, they argue, allowing the authorities to present themselves domestically as protectors of Mladić’s legacy while telling Brussels they had not organized a state event.

with dignity

· Aleksandar VučićVučić said he had done everything to ensure that Mladić’s final farewell proceeded in a dignified manner.

Mladić’s body was returned from The Hague for burial at Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade after a service at the Church of St. Luke in Vidikovac. The preparations and funeral became, in the view of Klix.ba, another display of denial, historical revisionism and disregard for victims.

President Aleksandar Vučić did not attend the funeral or the memorial ceremony. He cited previously arranged state duties, but publicly said he had done everything to ensure that Mladić’s final farewell passed “with dignity.” Vučić has previously criticized the Hague tribunal for not allowing Mladić to spend his final days in Serbia, calling its conduct “anti-civilizational.” He also dismissed European Commissioner Marta Kos’s decision to cancel a visit to Belgrade because of the glorification of a war criminal as “stupid.”

anti-civilizational

· Aleksandar VučićVučić used the phrase to criticize the Hague tribunal’s treatment of Mladić.

The article portrays Vučić as keeping his physical distance from an event that could further harm relations with the European Union while still ensuring state logistical support and sending messages aimed at nationalist voters. “He does not appear before the coffin, but the state infrastructure was already there,” it says.

stupid

· Aleksandar VučićVučić dismissed European Commissioner Marta Kos’s decision to cancel a Belgrade visit.

Index.hr reported that thousands gathered to see the coffin of Mladić, the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska who was convicted by international courts. The Mothers of Srebrenica also condemned a football-match banner showing Mladić alongside the words “Straight to Potočari,” calling it “a revival of Chetnik ideology.” The group said, “Never again will Chetnik ideology set foot in Potočari.”

Never again will Chetnik ideology set foot in Potočari.

· Mothers of SrebrenicaThe group responded to a football-match banner featuring Mladić and a reference to Potočari.
About this summary

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. 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.

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