Overview
- Ratko Mladic, convicted by the UN-backed ICTY of genocide and other war crimes, was buried in Belgrade on Monday after his body lay in state at St. Luke's Church and a procession to Topčider cemetery.
- Serbian authorities used a government plane to return his remains, soldiers carried a flag-draped coffin, and several ministers and veterans participated in ceremonies that many critics called state-linked honours.
- EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and other officials publicly condemned the glorification of Mladic and canceled planned visits to Serbia in protest of the funeral arrangements.
- Thousands of mourners, including veterans and nationalist groups, attended and public displays such as a Red Star Belgrade tifo reinforced deep domestic support that clashes with survivors' demands for accountability.
- The burial has increased regional strain over wartime memory and could affect Serbia's EU accession prospects while UN and Dutch inquiries into Mladic's death continue and Bosnia's laws criminalizing glorification of war criminals remain in force.