After 84-year-old Mladic, who had health problems, died in the prison in The Hague, Netherlands, where he was serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity, his body was brought to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
The fact that Mladic's body was received with a ceremony and that he would be buried with a state ceremony was met with reaction by many leaders of countries in the Balkans.
Chairman of the Presidential Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Bosnian Member Denis Becirovic, in his statement on the website of the Presidential Council, stated that Mladic is one of the most brutal criminals in history and that his burial with a state ceremony means glorifying the criminals.
Emphasizing that a state ceremony for Mladic would lead to unpredictable consequences for the future of the region, Becirovic said:
"This attitude towards a war criminal who is responsible for the genocide against Bosnians is the most brutal provocation and insult against the victims of the genocide. The glorification of the war criminal Ratko Mladic, for whom there is a final verdict, is a direct blow to the values of the United Nations (UN), to which the court that convicted this criminal with the final verdict is affiliated. We urge the European Union, the Council of Europe, the UN and other international actors to openly condemn those who glorify convicted war criminals at the institutional level and to take concrete steps against them." I urge you to throw it away."
Reaction from Slovenia and Croatia
Slovenian Foreign Minister Tone Kajzer met with his Croatian counterpart Gordan Grlic Radman in the capital Ljubljana.
In his statement to journalists, Kajzer stated that Mladic was "glorified" in Serbia and said that this was not the right way.
Stating that Mladic was punished for the crimes he committed, Kajzer said, "Glorifying or highlighting these individuals in any way will of course not concretely contribute to the progress of Serbia or the development of mutual understanding between neighbors and in the region." he said.
Radman, on the other hand, stated that holding a state ceremony for Mladic undermines the steps towards stability and security in the western Balkans and deepens divisions.
Stating that Mladic also committed war crimes in Croatia, Radman added that he was sorry that he was not punished for them.
Reaction from Kosovo
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, at the event he attended in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, spoke about bringing Mladic's body to Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, after his death in the prison in the Hague city of the Netherlands, where he was serving a life sentence as a war criminal for crimes against humanity.
Pointing out that there is a great paradox in Serbia, Kurti said, "The body of the criminal Ratko Mladic, convicted of genocide and war crimes, is welcomed with a high-level state ceremony by Aleksandar Vucic, former minister of (Slobodan) Milosevic and now the President of Serbia." he said.
Kurti recalled that Mladic said, just a week after the Srebrenica Genocide, "100 Bosnian Muslims will be killed for every Serb killed."
Stating that Mladic's reception with a high-level ceremony constitutes a clear example of how one of the main responsible for the most serious crimes in the Bosnian War is glorified in Serbia, Kurti said: "When a society publicly honors a person convicted of genocide, it is difficult to talk about confronting the past, regretting or moving away from the politics that produced these crimes." made his assessment.
Serbian President Vucic will not attend the funeral
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, in his statement to journalists, argued that the decisions regarding Mladic's burial place and ceremony were made by his family.
Vucic also stated that he would not attend Mladic's funeral due to his previously planned visit to Uzbekistan.
A memorial ceremony will be held for Mladic in Belgrade tomorrow. On Monday, his body will be opened to visitors at the church and then he will be buried in the Topcider Cemetery in Belgrade, where he will be accompanied by a cortege.
Who is Mladic, the war criminal who hid for 16 years?
Ratko Mladic was born in 1942 in the village of Bozanovici near Kalinovik in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. He received his military training in Belgrade and served on active duty in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA).
In May 1992, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the newly established Republika Srpska Army in Bosnia and Herzegovina and remained in this position until 1996.
Mladic, for whom an indictment was first prepared by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) on July 24, 1995, fled to Serbia after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and hid for about 16 years.
Despite the statements of the Serbian authorities that they could not find Mladic, allegations that he was protected by some people in state institutions for years came to the fore.
In the images on a local television program, Mladic was seen meeting with people in crowded places, having fun and taking photos while he was wanted.
Mladic was captured in the village of Lazarevo near Zrenjanin, Serbia, on 26 May 2011 and was sent to The Hague on 31 May 2011.
Mladic, whose trial started on May 16, 2012, did not accept the charges against him.
Mladic was considered to be the chief responsible and instigator of the Srebrenica Genocide, in which 8 thousand 372 Bosnian civilians were murdered in July 1995.
