Serbia flew the body of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić home on a government aircraft on Thursday, draping the coffin in the national flag and assigning soldiers to carry it from the tarmac.
Mladić, 84, died last week in a UN detention facility in The Hague while serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 Bosniak men and boys. A commemoration is set for Saturday at the House of the Army; burial is scheduled Monday at Topčider Cemetery. Authorities say tens of thousands may attend.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said glorification of war criminals “goes against EU values.” Irish officials called any state participation “unacceptable.” President Aleksandar Vučić said he will not attend, citing a scheduled visit by Uzbekistan’s president, and that the state is providing only security and logistics. Many Serbs still regard Mladić as a defender; Bosniaks and much of the EU see a war criminal being honoured. The episode lands as Serbia already faces EU pressure over rule of law, media freedom and spyware allegations.