Serbia held a funeral for Ratko Mladic, a convicted war criminal, with military honors. Thousands of people lined the streets of Belgrade on Monday to follow the funeral service and burial of the former Bosnian Serb army commander, who died while serving a life sentence in The Hague for genocide and other war crimes. Serbian Patriarch Porfirije officiated the funeral service, which was described by Informer TV, a pro-government broadcaster, as a 'magnificent farewell.' The funeral did not mention the roughly 8,000 Bosniak civilians and prisoners massacred by Mladic's forces in Srebrenica in July 1995.

President Aleksandar Vucic did not attend the funeral, citing a previously scheduled visit by his counterpart from Uzbekistan. Vucic insisted that the state was merely respecting the wishes of the family and ensuring a dignified burial. He dismissed criticism from the EU, calling the reaction 'stupid.' An EU spokesman stated that 'Any glorification of war criminals, genocide denial and revisionism contradict the most fundamental European values and have no place in the EU or in EU candidate countries.'

For Vucic, who seeks to balance Serbia between the European Union and Russia, the situation is politically delicate. He is expected to call a snap parliamentary election as early as this week. Analysts suggest that Vucic is using the funeral to generate nationalist sentiment and portray his political opponents as traitors. Political scientist Dejan Bursac noted that Vucic is 'grasping at every available lifeline' to secure his position ahead of the election.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Srebrenica is located, political analyst Tanja Topic observed that the issue is used to mobilize citizens around patriotic fervor. The country is also set to hold elections before Serbia, with the vote scheduled for October 4. Meanwhile, the student movement in Serbia has largely avoided commenting on Mladic, focusing instead on demands for the rule of law, democracy, and against systemic corruption.

The funeral has sparked significant international condemnation, with European Commissioner Marta Kos canceling an official visit to Belgrade over the event. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also warned against actions that glorify convicted war criminals. Civil society organizations in Serbia criticized the decision to give Mladic military honors, calling it a 'slap in the face to victims and survivors.' Sociologist Marko Oljaca noted that Vucic had mobilized an entire machinery to mythologize and humanize Mladic while denying and relativizing his crimes.