The death of a war criminal could be the last opportunity to draw a clear line in Serbia between respect for the dead and glorification of a man legally convicted of genocide, but the country seems to have missed this opportunity, media from neighboring countries write.
Instead, his return from The Hague and funeral preparations they were turned into another manifestation of denial, historical revisionism and insulting the victims, writes Klix.ba on the occasion of Mladić's funeral at the Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade, after the funeral service at the Church of St. Luke in Vidikovac.
The border between private funerals and state honors it is deliberately obscured, because the government retained the possibility to act as a protector of Mladic's "image and deeds" to the domestic public, and to claim to Brussels that it did not organize the state ceremony, the portal states, noting that this is best seen in the behavior of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, who will not attend Mladić's funeral, justifying his absence with previously agreed state obligations, it is added.
"Shameful": A candidate for a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is being sent off
BH Telecom will temporarily stop the distribution of television programs during the broadcast of content that broadcasts the funeral of Ratko Mladić, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, Sarajevo's Oslobođenje reports. This media reports that Nenad Nešić, a candidate for a member of the BiH Presidency, came to see off Mladić. They called this decision of politicians "shameful".
As announced by BH Telecom, the decision was made in accordance with the current legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and refers exclusively to the time of broadcasting content about the funeral.
Croatian HRT reports that comrades-in-arms of Ratko Mladić are taking turns next to the body, and the church ceremony will be led by the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), Patriarch Porfirije.
"According to police estimates, there are about 8.000 people in the procession in front of the church, and the pro-government media reports that people from all over the Republika Srpska and Serbia are also arriving in Belgrade," adds the Croatian public service.
Reawakening of Chetnik ideology
Portal Index.hr reports that thousands of people gathered to see the coffin of the legally convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić, former commander of the Republika Srpska Army, who will be buried at the Topčider cemetery.
The portal also conveys the reaction of the Association of Mothers of Srebrenica to the "Direction of Potočari" banner at the football match between Partizan and Crvena Zvezda, with the image of Ratko Mladić.
They stated that it was "about the reawakening of the Chetnik ideology".
"Today Potočari have their guardians, the Mothers of Srebrenica. Chetnik ideology will never set foot in Potočari again," said the Association of Mothers of Srebrenica.
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