In the weeks following the death of Ratko Mladic — the general convicted of orchestrating some of Europe's gravest atrocities since the Second World War — Serbia found itself unable to speak with one voice about its own past. The government declared his funeral a private affair, yet ministers stood openly among the mourners and state broadcasters offered him the reverence of a national hero. It is the enduring tension of nations that have not yet decided what they owe to history: the desire to move forward into a European future, and the pull of a memory that refuses to be quietly buried.
Serbia's Mladic Funeral Draws Thousands Despite 'Private' Status
Mladic was convicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Bosnian conflict, resulting in thousands of deaths and displacement.