Bosnia expels Serbian diplomats over Mladic funeral

Bosnia's Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic ordered two Serbian diplomats to leave the country on Tuesday after Serbian officials attended the funeral of convicted former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic.

Konakovic said he had ordered Serbia's defence envoy and an adviser from Serbia's intelligence service to leave Bosnia. He also said he would recall Sarajevo's embassy staff from Serbia in an attempt to reduce diplomatic relations to the lowest possible level.

At least six Serbian ministers were among thousands of people who attended Monday's funeral service in Belgrade. The service openly praised Mladic, who died last month in The Hague while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Bosnia's 1990s war, including his role in the killing of about 8,000 people in Srebrenica.

“They crossed every red line,” Konakovic told a press conference in Sarajevo.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa called the attendance of Serbian officials “deeply regrettable”. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Serbia's path into the European Union required an unequivocal commitment to European values and historical truth.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who did not attend the funeral, rejected allegations that Serbia was glorifying Mladic and said the service was organised by the family, not the state. Critics pointed to the attendance of ministers and the use of soldiers and a government plane to bring Mladic's body to Belgrade.

Emir Suljagic, director of the Srebrenica memorial centre, said statements from Brussels were not enough and accused European officials of offering only “lip service” to victims.