BELGRADE -- Former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic, who was convicted by The Hague tribunal for war crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina, has been buried with state honors in Belgrade on September 7 despite international condemnation.In the presence of members of the Serbian Army, Serbian officials, and the political leadership of the Republika Srpska entity, many of those gathered at the Belgrade cemetery chanted Mladic's name and greeted the arrival of his coffin with applause.Mladic, who died at the age of 84 on August 27 in The Hague while serving a life sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity, had lain in state at the Church of St. Luke in the Serbian capital.
During the ceremony, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije, said the Hague convict's name "will remain deeply embedded in the memory and prayers of the majority of the Serbian and Orthodox people."Mladic was honored on September 7 by numerous officials from Serbia, Republika Srpska, and Montenegro, despite warnings from the United States and the European Union that glorifying convicted war criminals was unacceptable.During the funeral service, a prayer was offered that "General Ratko be forgiven for his voluntary and involuntary sins" as an honor guard from the Serbian armed forces stood watch. Veterans from the former Bosnian Serb Army are taking turns to stand beside the coffin.Thousands of people waited in lines outside the church to pay their respects, with some wearing T-shirts with Mladic's image or symbols related to the 1992-95 Bosnian War.Four buses carrying demobilized members of the former Bosnian Serb Army traveled to Belgrade from Banja Luka, the administrative center of Bosnia's Serb-majority Republika Srpska, for the funeral. The transportation was organized by the Republika Srpska Veterans Organization.
