Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has claimed that between 120,000 and 150,000 people attended the funeral of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić in Belgrade, a figure nearly ten times higher than an estimate published by the independent Archive of Public Gatherings.
Speaking on Serbian public broadcaster RTS on Tuesday evening, Vučić said he had expected what he described as a “hysterical wave” of reactions from Sarajevo, Prishtina, Zagreb and Podgorica following the funeral of Mladić, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Hague tribunal for genocide and other war crimes.
Vučić said the funeral at Topčider Cemetery was attended by an “enormous number” of people and described the event as a highly emotional day.
His estimate, however, sharply contradicts figures published earlier Tuesday by the Archive of Public Gatherings, which estimated that approximately 16,000 people attended the funeral.
The discrepancy has placed the size of the gathering at the center of a wider political dispute over the significance of Mladić’s funeral and the Serbian government’s response to it.
Vučić argued that the funeral had been used by political actors across the region as an opportunity to demonstrate what he described as hostility toward Serbia and its achievements.
“What really worries me is the fact that the funeral was an alibi for many in the region to show how much they hate Serbia,” Vučić said, adding that Serbia itself had been the main target of the criticism.
He also addressed the diplomatic consequences of the funeral, after Bosnia and Herzegovina announced measures against Serbian diplomatic officials in response to the state and military honors given to Mladić.
Bosnian Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković said earlier Tuesday that two officials from Serbia’s embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina would be expelled and given 48 hours to leave the country.
Vučić said Serbia would not respond with what he called “hysterical reactions,” but warned that Belgrade would introduce measures based on reciprocity, without providing details.
The Serbian president also commented on criticism from European leaders, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa.
Both European officials criticized the presence of senior Serbian officials at Mladić’s funeral, saying that honoring a person convicted of genocide and war crimes was incompatible with the values underpinning Serbia’s path toward EU membership.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also canceled a planned visit to Belgrade following the glorification of Mladić.
Vučić said he had no objection to the statements from von der Leyen and Costa, but disputed their characterization of the funeral as an event centered on the glorification of a war criminal.
The Serbian president also confirmed that parliamentary elections will be called for October 25.
The controversy over the funeral comes as Serbia faces renewed scrutiny from Brussels over its commitment to European values, regional reconciliation and its handling of the legacy of the wars of the 1990s.
The enormous gap between Vučić’s estimate of 120,000–150,000 attendees and the Archive of Public Gatherings’ estimate of around 16,000 is likely to further intensify the political debate over the scale and significance of the event.
