Vučić Stayed Away, but Serbia’s Establishment Attended Mladić Funeral

Aleksandar Vučić did not attend Ratko Mladić’s funeral, but much of Serbia’s official and nationalist establishment did. The convicted war criminal was buried in Belgrade with military and church honors, a ceremony that immediately set off alarm in Brussels.

Thousands gathered on Sept. 7, 2026, as Serbian army personnel escorted a coffin covered by the Serbian flag and a military band played a funeral march. Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Porfirije, described as a close ally of Vučić, led the service at St. Luke’s Church.

“

The glorification of war criminals, the denial of genocide and revisionism contradict fundamental European values and have no place either in the Union or in candidate countries.

Belgrade’s official position was that the state had not organized the funeral. Yet the body had been flown from the Netherlands on a government aircraft. Those attending included Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić, Justice Minister Nenad Vujić, Vučić’s son Danilo and Russian Ambassador Aleksandar Bocan-Harchenko. Vučić received Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev that day and did not mention Mladić or the burial in public appearances.

The European External Action Service responded sharply. Spokesman Christian Wigand said, “The glorification of war criminals, the denial of genocide and revisionism contradict fundamental European values and have no place either in the Union or in candidate countries.” EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos canceled a planned visit to Belgrade, calling the events a glorification of the convicted commander.

“

A sentence ends with death.

Mladić died in late August at 84 while serving a life sentence. The international court convicted him, among other crimes, over the killing of more than 8,000 people in Srebrenica in early July 1995, as well as the siege of Sarajevo and other crimes committed during the wars in Bosnia and Croatia. Justice Minister Vujić had defended citizens’ right to pay their respects, saying a sentence ends with death.

Young men in the procession wore black shirts bearing Mladić’s image and carried flags with his portrait. Banners said the general had not died but “lives in the hearts.” Opposition right-wing politician Miloš Jovanović said many Serbs viewed him as a symbol of the freedom of the Serbian people. Murals appeared around Belgrade, followed by a public vigil and a banner at the Partizan and Red Star derby alluding to Potočari, the site of mass executions of Bosniaks. Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo condemned the scenes. Bosnia and Herzegovina also filed criminal complaints against people promoting a cult of Mladić, which is punishable there.

“

Lives in the hearts.