Ratko Mladić, the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’, given hero’s funeral in Serbia
Fanfare at Belgrade funeral of man convicted of genocide raises questions from EU over Serbia’s membership plan
TL;DR
- Thousands attended the funeral of Ratko Mladić, a Serbian general convicted of war crimes, in Belgrade.
- Mladić, known as the 'Butcher of Bosnia', died in prison while serving a life sentence.
- His funeral was marked by military pomp, national flags, and banners honoring him, which has drawn international alarm.
- The European Union condemned the 'glorification' of Mladić, stating it is incompatible with EU values and may impact Serbia's accession negotiations.
- Mladić was a key figure in the Bosnian war, associated with ethnic cleansing, the siege of Sarajevo, and the Srebrenica massacre.
- Serbia has been negotiating EU accession since 2014, but the process has stalled.
- The EU reiterated that any glorification of war criminals contradicts fundamental European values.