Commemoration held for Ratko Mladic in Belgrade ahead of burial
Quick Look
- A commemoration for convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic was held in Belgrade on Saturday, attended by hundreds including family, former military officials and Serbian government representatives, two days before his burial in a Belgrade cemetery.
- Mladic, 84, died last week in The Hague after serving a life sentence for 1990s Bosnian war crimes.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Ratko Mladic was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War, including the Srebrenica massacre and siege of Sarajevo. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017.
A commemoration was held on Saturday in Belgrade for war criminal Ratko Mladic two days ahead of his burial, attended by dozens of former military staff, family members and officials.
Mladic died last week after suffering several strokes while serving a life sentence in The Hague for war crimes committed during the 1990s war in Bosnia.
His body was returned to Serbia on a government plane on Thursday, with his casket draped in flags and received with military honours.
The 84-year-old will be buried at a Belgrade cemetery on Monday, in a ceremony expected to draw thousands of mourners despite international condemnation.
On Saturday, around 300 people gathered at the commemoration ceremony for Mladic at a military facility in Belgrade, organised by an association of retired and active Serbian army generals, according to an Agence France-Presse reporter.
His son Darko and other family members also attended, as well as Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic, and officials from the Bosnian Serb statelet, Republika Srpska, including President Sinisa Karan.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
International bodies may issue formal condemnations of the commemoration and burial.
Likely · Within days
Tensions between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina may increase in the short term.
Likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- What specific security measures will be in place during Mladic's burial?
- How will the burial affect Serbia's EU accession process?
- Will any international bodies take action in response to the commemoration?
