Sarajevo withdraws embassy staff from Serbia after Mladic's funeral with state honors

Bosnia and Herzegovina's Foreign Minister, Elmedin Konaković, announced on Monday that almost all diplomatic personnel of the Bosnian Embassy in Serbia will be withdrawn, in response to the actions of Serbian officials following the death and burial of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.

Konakovic said that only the ambassador and consul can remain in Belgrade, as the Bosnian Presidency decides on their appointment and dismissal, while the rest of the staff will withdraw.

According to him, consular services are expected to be transferred to the embassies of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zagreb and Podgorica.

He justified the decision with developments in Serbia following Mladic's death, including the funeral, the memorial ceremony and the messages that have appeared in public.

"If I could, I would sever diplomatic relations with Serbia today. What I can do is work to reduce relations to the minimum possible," Konakovic said.

He said he was “not surprised” by the presence of Republika Srpska officials at Mladic’s funeral in Belgrade and warned that he would seek sanctions “at all addresses” against individuals who attended the ceremony, including Bosnian Presidency member Zeljka Cvijanovic.

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, in a Facebook reaction to Konaković's warning, accused the head of Bosnia and Herzegovina's diplomacy of "hypocrisy" and said that he should "first mention the names of the Serbian victims, condemn the crimes committed against them and explain why convicted commanders continue to be glorified in Sarajevo."

The Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina said that the "final alarm" was the message "Towards Potocari", displayed at the Red Star match, assessing that such events constitute a continuation of the glorification of war crimes and their perpetrators.

During the derby between Crvena Zvezda and Partizan on September 6, fans in the northern stand of the "Rajko Mitic" stadium displayed a large portrait of Mladić with the inscription: "Towards Potocari".

His portrait remained on display in the north stand throughout the match.

Konakovic also warned of a diplomatic offensive against the European Union and other international partners. He said that a series of diplomatic notes and letters will be sent, demanding a clear response to Serbia's stance on war crimes proven by court decisions.

According to him, Bosnia will no longer respond passively to efforts to review the facts about war crimes and will use diplomatic channels more intensively to present, as he said, the truth about the events of the last war.

Who from Bosnia attended Mladic's funeral?

Mladic's funeral ceremony in Belgrade was attended by top officials from Bosnia's Serb entity, Republika Srpska.

Among them were the member of the Presidency of Bosnia, Željka Cvijanović; the President of Republika Srpska, Sinisa Karan; Prime Minister Savo Minić; the Speaker of the Assembly of Republika Srpska, Nenad Stevanđić; as well as several ministers of the Government of this entity.

Tributes to Mladic were also paid by Milorad Dodik, leader of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, the mayor of Banja Luka, Drashko Stanivukovic, as well as representatives of the opposition Serbian Democratic Party, Branko Blanuša and Marinko Božović.

International warnings over glorification of Mladic

The European Union Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina warned on September 7 that “any glorification of war criminals, denial of genocide and revisionism is contrary to the most fundamental European values ​​and has no place in either the EU or the candidate countries for membership.”

US senators Jeanne Shaheen, Chuck Grassley and Keith Self had previously reacted to the funeral ceremony with military and state honors, calling on authorities in Serbia and Republika Srpska to distance themselves from the ceremony.

"Ratko Mladic was a war criminal and architect of the genocide in Srebrenica, where more than 8.000 Bosniak men and boys were killed," the senators said in a joint statement.

They warned that glorifying him would constitute a desecration of the memory of the victims and a test of Serbia and Republika Srpska's willingness to break away from the legacy of war crimes.

European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, meanwhile canceled a planned visit to Serbia, assessing that the glorification of a person convicted of war crimes and genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina is incompatible with the values ​​on which the European path is based.

Former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, Mladic, whom the Hague Tribunal convicted of genocide and other war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was buried in Belgrade on Monday, September 7th, with military and state honors.

On September 5, at the House of the Serbian Army in Belgrade, a memorial ceremony was held for Mladic, attended by, among others, the Serbian Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujic, and the President of the Republika Srpska, Sinisa Karan.

In the days following Mladic's death, rallies were organized in his memory in several cities in Serbia and the Republika Srpska entity.

The largest rally was held in Banja Luka on September 1.

In the narratives of some media outlets in Belgrade and Banja Luka, Mladic is presented as a victim of the Tribunal, which, according to them, did not allow him to receive treatment in Serbia, while the court verdict against him and the victims of the crimes for which he was convicted are almost not mentioned.