Mladic funeral sharpens Serbia-Bosnia tensions before election
The Belgrade ceremony has prompted diplomatic measures from Bosnia and Herzegovina and renewed warnings that glorifying convicted war criminals undermines reconciliation.
The funeral of former Bosnian Serb army commander Ratko Mladic in Belgrade has deepened political and ethnic divisions between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of Bosnia’s 4 October general election.
Mladic was convicted in 2017 of genocide in Srebrenica and crimes against humanity. Serbia denied organising a state funeral, but the ceremony included military honours, state-controlled venues and the attendance of senior Serbian and Bosnian Serb officials.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Foreign Minister, Elmedin Konakovic, announced a major reduction in staff at the country’s embassy in Belgrade. Consular services are to be relocated to Zagreb and Podgorica, leaving the embassy’s day-to-day diplomatic presence at a minimum.
Presidency chair Denis Becirovic condemned the funeral as an “anti-civilizational act”. In Republika Srpska, officials attended the ceremony, where mourners portrayed Mladic as a defender of Serbs and a victim of international justice. The contrasting responses reflect Bosnia and Herzegovina’s fragmented political structure under the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement.
The Office of the High Representative said glorifying convicted war criminals and denying genocide and other war crimes creates divisions, causes further pain to victims and their families, and undermines reconciliation. The funeral has consequently become political material for competing nationalist narratives as Bosnia’s election approaches.
