TOPALOVIĆ: GENERAL MLADIĆ'S CROSS WAS HEAVY, BUT HE BORE IT PATIENTLY

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 7 /SRNA/ - The cross borne by Republika Srpska Army General Ratko Mladić was a heavy one, but he bore it patiently, said retired priest Milojko Topalović, who was the general's first religious instructor and a friend.

"I was very close to him, and he was very close to me. Today, I had to come and say goodbye. You can imagine what it was like for him, for such an energetic man to be reduced to such immobility, not even daring to look out the window," Topalović said.

He said that General Mladić passed away as a true Christian, given a farewell according to Orthodox rites and with love.

"There is no greater blessing for a dying man than to confess and receive Holy Communion. General Mladić knew this and received Communion before his departure. Today, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije officiated his funeral service, which is truly exalted," Topalović said.

He stressed that General Mladić, whom he introduced to the mysteries of the Orthodox faith upon his arrival in Sokolac and on the Romanija battlefield, was a good student and showed just how strong his roots were.

"When he came to Romanija, he was starting from scratch when it came to religion. We learned everything from the moment we entered the church, including how to conduct ourselves. I was deputy to Metropolitan Nikolaj of Dabar-Bosnia, while he was a soldier from head to toe. He had been brought up in the communist spirit, but also in the traditional spirit," Topalović said.

Father Milojko said that he knew the general's mother and attended her funeral, and that he baptized and buried his daughter Ana. He added that throughout the general's time in hiding, including when he was in The Hague, he remained in contact with his son Darko.

Eighty-year-old Nada Radovanović walked more than three kilometers today to bid farewell to the general and place on his bier a towel she had embroidered as a girl in Semberija.

"I think any human would feel sorry for him. My brother, who was one of Ratko's soldiers, told me to come and light a candle for him. I was in church last night and today as well," she said.

Radovanović said that she prayed every day for General Mladić's health while he was in The Hague and that she would now continue to pray for his soul.

"A great hero. If he had not fought for Republika Srpska, evil would have reached Belgrade as well. He fought heroically to the very end!" Radovanović said.

General Ratko Mladić was buried today with full military honors at Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade, next to his beloved daughter Ana.

According to estimates by relevant officials from the security services, more than 150,000 people attended tributes to the late General Mladić throughout the day, Večernje Novosti reported.

Some mourners are only now making their way to the cemetery due to heavy congestion and hours-long traffic blockages in those parts of the city.