Thousands gathered in Belgrade for the funeral of Ratko Mladić, the former Bosnian Serb commander convicted of genocide and war crimes during the Bosnian war in the 1990s. After a five-hour funeral service, which began at 7:00 a.m. in the Church of St. Luke the Apostle, at noon, the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije, officiated the opelo, or funeral service.

According to police, cited by pro-government media, at least 8,000 people paid tribute to Mladić outside the church. The crowd consisted of people of all ages, former combatants, and supporters of the former general, many of them dressed in black and carrying Serbian flags and effigies of Mladić. Police blocked the surrounding streets to allow the flow of attendees. Among the images and symbols displayed was a large banner reading: "Welcome, General, thank your mother for giving birth to a hero, so that Serbia's glory may return."

Also present at the church were representatives of Serbian institutions. Among them was Justice Minister Nenad Vujić, who had recently personally accompanied the body on the Serbian government's state flight from The Hague and who, the day after Mladić's death, had been the first to announce military and state honors. Also present were Culture Minister Nikola Selaković and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Darko Glišić.

An honor guard of military personnel was lined up beside the coffin, on which were displayed the general's saber of honor, medals and decorations, as well as his high-ranking officer's cap.

"An Orthodox Christian and Serbian soldier," Patriarch Porfirije said, "his name will remain deeply imprinted in the memory of the majority of the Serbian people." "Beyond the decisions of human courts," he added, "the final verdict on the figure and actions of the general rests with time, historical memory, and, above all, divine judgment."

The atrocities committed by Mladić during the Bosnian war, during the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, earned him the nickname "Butcher of Bosnia" in the international media, as well as his conviction for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, which killed over 8,000 people. Despite the sentences, he continues to be considered a hero by a segment of the Serbian population , particularly in Republika Srpska, where his death had already been commemorated with vigils and rallies.

At the end of the funeral, Mladić's body was carried in procession to the Topčider cemetery, where he will be buried. According to his family's wishes, the former general will be buried next to the grave of his daughter, who committed suicide in 1994, at just 23 years old, after discovering the horrors her father had committed.

(Unioneonline)

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