EU Leaders and Bosnia Condemn Honors Given to Ratko Mladić at Belgrade Funeral
9 sources across 8 countries
Who reported this
- ANSA
- Corriere della Sera
- Politico Europe
- El Espectador
- Deutsche Welle
- Telex
- Asahi Shimbun
- El Pais
- Reuters
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
- A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.
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European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa condemned the funeral of Ratko Mladić in Belgrade as shocking and in contradiction with the values underpinning Serbia's path toward the European Union. Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb army commander convicted of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, died on August 27 while serving a life sentence in The Hague. The funeral featured military honors, the presence of several Serbian ministers, and the attendance of Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Porfirije. While Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić did not attend, his son Danilo was present alongside the ministers of Defense and Justice. Thousands of people attended the ceremony, including veterans and youth, with some attendees describing Mladić as a hero who defended his people.
In response to the event, Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković announced the withdrawal of most embassy staff from Belgrade to reduce diplomatic relations to a minimum. He described the honors as an anti civilizational act. Other international reactions included criticism from the Dutch Foreign Minister and the Turkish Foreign Ministry, both of whom called the glorification of a convicted war criminal unacceptable. Within Serbia, the event highlighted a divide: government aligned media presented Mladić as a hero, while a small number of pro EU opposition members and student protesters called the ceremony shameful.
Outlets with a center lean focused on the diplomatic friction and the specific statements from EU leadership regarding Serbia's EU accession. Center left sources emphasized the scandal of glorifying a genocidist and the broader democratic backsliding under President Vučić. Center right sources provided more detailed descriptions of the nationalist fervor at the funeral and included perspectives on the limitations of international law in shaping a society's memory.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- Highlighted the moral scandal of honoring a genocidist and linked the event to democratic decline in Serbia.
- Centre
- Focused on the diplomatic tension and the impact of the event on Serbia's EU candidacy.
- Centre-right
- Detailed the nationalist atmosphere of the funeral and explored the conflict between judicial truth and public memory.
Sources
- Centre ANSA: The EU: the funeral of Mladic contradicts the path of Serbia towards the Union
- Centre-left Asahi Shimbun: Former commander with final conviction for war crimes is hero in Serbia; ministers attend funeral
- Centre-right Corriere della Sera: Bosnia withdraws much of the staff from the embassy in Serbia after the funeral of Mladic. The Bosnian Foreign Minister: "If I could, I would break diplomatic relations"
- Centre-right Corriere della Sera: The ambassador of Kosovo in Italy: «Mladic and that past that does not pass»
- Centre-right Corriere della Sera: Mladic funeral, Belgrade defies EU warning: thousands among veterans and youths. Von der Leyen and Costa: "Shocking images, in contradiction with European values"
- Centre Deutsche Welle: Bosnia: The long shadow cast by Ratko Mladic's coffin
- Centre-left El Espectador: Serbia bid farewell with honors to the genocidist Mladić and complicated its entry into the European Union
- Centre-left El Pais: The funeral with honors of the war criminal Mladic opens another rift between the EU and Serbia
- Centre Politico Europe: Ursula von der Leyen condemns ‘shocking’ Ratko Mladić funeral in Serbia
- Centre Reuters: EU's von der Leyen slams turnout for Mladic's funeral - Reuters
- Centre Telex: EU leaders say the presence of high ranking Serbian officials at Mladić's funeral goes against EU values
93% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.