Convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic gets hero’s burial in Serbia

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina/Belgrade, Serbia – Thousands of people have gathered in Belgrade for the funeral of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic, despite warnings against the “glorification” of the former Bosnian Serb army general.Mladic, 84, died on August 27 while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His body was returned to Serbia on a government plane last week, sparking condemnation in the region and beyond.Dubbed “the butcher of Bosnia“, Mladic was buried on Monday in a coffin wrapped in the Serbian flag, with full military honours and the participation of government members.Among those in attendance were Serbian opposition figures; former and current officials of Republika Srpska, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s two entities; pro-Serbian politicians from neighbouring Montenegro and Russia’s Ambassador to Serbia Alexandar Botsan-Kharchenko.Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who has sought to maintain good relations with both Western countries and Russia, did not attend the funeral. Mladic’s family had publicly thanked the president for his support, and Vucic also bac...