Sawt Falasteen - Bosnian Serb war criminal to be buried Monday, amid EU backlash

Mladic died last week, after suffering several strokes, while serving a life sentence in The Hague for war crimes committed during the 1990s war in Bosnia.

The 84-year-old's body was returned to Serbia on a government plane on Thursday, with his casket draped in flags and welcomed with military honours ahead of his funeral on Monday.

"My father's funeral will take place on Monday, September 7, starting at 7:00 am," said Mladic's son Darko, during a press conference in Belgrade alongside Serbia's justice minister.

Details of Mladic's brutal crimes during the war, including his role in the Srebrenica massacre, which was ruled a genocide by a UN court, led international media to dub him the "Butcher of Bosnia".

Despite this, he is still lauded by some Serbs as a hero, particularly in Bosnia's Serb entity Republika Srpska -- where his death was marked with vigils and gatherings.

"I say before the whole world that I am proud of the role of my father," Darko Mladic said.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic earlier suggested "tens of thousands" could attend his funeral in the city on Monday.

-'Murdered' -

Mladic's son also repeated accusations that the decision not to release his father and alleged refusal of external medical treatment amounted to "murder".

"The family's view is that the murder of General Mladic was carried out at The Hague tribunal," he said.

The Hague court rejected multiple requests for his release on health grounds in recent months, suggesting his palliative care in detention was adequate.

Mladic was the military face of a brutal leadership trio alongside former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic.

The 1992-1995 war left around 100,000 people dead and 2.2 million displaced.

- 'Glorification' -

Although Serbia's top officials have largely avoided commenting on Mladic's death, pro-government figures have repeatedly lionised him alongside blanket coverage in tabloid media praising his legacy.

As his coffin was driven from the airport toward the capital, groups of mostly young men gathered on motorway overpasses, displaying banners honouring Mladic and lighting flares.

Some uniformed police officers were also seen saluting along the roadside as the motorcade passed.

EU enlargement chief Marta Kos said she had decided to scrap an upcoming visit to the Balkan nation after Thursday's repatriation.

"The glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built," Kos said in a post to X.

Vucic, who earlier said he would not attend the funeral due to a prior engagement, said Kos's accusations were "stupid".

"Were we supposed to ban the funeral? Ban people from attending? Not regulate traffic?" he said.

"Marta Kos will not lecture me on who the criminals are and who they are not."

He added that he had spoken with Mladic's family and insisted they had decided on all the service arrangements themselves.

Z.AbuSaud--SF-PST