Serbia crosses 'red line' as war criminal funeral sparks outrage

BELGRADE — Bosnia's foreign minister on Tuesday expelled two Serbian diplomats and accused Belgrade of crossing "every red line" after several of its officials attended a funeral for war criminal Ratko Mladic. At least six Serbian ministers were among thousands that attended Monday's funeral service which openly praised Mladic, who died last month in The Hague while serving a life sentence for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war. The scenes in the capital of a European Union candidate country also drew condemnation from outside the Balkans, with EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa labelling the attendance of Serbian officials "deeply regrettable". "Serbia's path into the European Union requires an unequivocal commitment to fundamental European values and historical truth," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X. Bosnia's foreign minister Elmedin Konakovic said he had ordered the defence envoy and an adviser of Serbia's intelligence service to leave the country. Earlier he said he would recall Sarajevo's embassy staff from Serbia in a attempt to cut diplomatic ties to the "lowest possible level". "They crossed every red line with what they did yesterday, the day before, and in the days leading up to the reception," Konakovic told a press conference in Sarajevo. 'Lip service' Despite Mladic's convictions, Serb nationalists and pro-government media still embrace him as a hero. Mourners wore shirts emblazoned with his face and held banners praising the former general during Monday's event. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who did not attend the funeral, has rejected allegations of glorifying Mladic and insisted that the service was organised by the family, not the state. But the attendance of ministers, alongside the use of soldiers and a government plane to bring Mladic's body to Belgrade has sparked outrage. "If this is not state involvement, what is?" Emir Suljagic, the director of the Srebrenica memorial centre, said on X. Mladic was sentenced for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Bosnia's 1990s war -- including his role in the killing of some 8,000 people in Srebrenica. Suljagic said the statements from Brussels were not enough. "We have had enough of people paying lip service to the victims while proceeding to shake hands with politicians dreaming of future genocides," he said.