Mladic Funeral Divides Serbia as War Criminal Returns Home in Coffin

The body of Ratko Mladic, the former commander of Bosnian Serb forces convicted of genocide and war crimes, arrived in Serbia on Thursday evening after his death in a Hague prison where he was serving a life sentence. His flag-draped coffin was transported from the plane by Serbian military personnel, while crowds of supporters gathered along the route holding banners reading "Thank you, General" and "Heroes never die."

Serbia Divided Over the Funeral

The arrival of Mladic's body has deepened a bitter divide over how Serbia should treat his legacy. Justice Minister Nenad Vujic announced that the burial would take place with the highest state honours, but President Aleksandar Vucic later said the decision would be left to the family. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend the Belgrade funeral reportedly planned for Monday. Pro-government tabloids followed the arrival minute by minute, describing Mladic as a "Serbian general" and claiming he was "killed in The Hague."

A Record of Atrocities

Mladic was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for the Srebrenica genocide, in which more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed, for the siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1995 in which 1,601 children died, and for other war crimes including the operation of internment camps. Jasmina Lazovic, director of the Belgrade Humanitarian Law Center which has documented war crimes for decades, said she was not surprised by the scenes, pointing to the long-standing glorification of Mladic across Serbia visible in murals in numerous towns and cities.