Death of Ratko Mladić: Glorification of the Convicted War Criminal Mocks the Victims

The Society for Threatened Peoples strongly condemns the announcement by Serbian Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić to bury Ratko Mladić with the highest state honors. “A man who has been legally convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes must not be posthumously elevated to the status of a role model and hero through state honors. This is yet another mockery of his victims and their families,” says Belma Zulčić, director of the STP in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“Ratko Mladić lived to be 84 years old. Thousands of his victims were denied that chance. He bore primary responsibility for the Srebrenica genocide, in which at least 8,372 Bosniak men and boys were murdered in July 1995. During the years-long siege of Sarajevo, thousands of civilians died while fetching water, at markets, and on their way to work. Children were deliberately shot at while on their way to school or while playing. Our thoughts today must be first and foremost with them, the survivors, and their families,” explains Zulčić.

Mladić spent the last 15 years of his life in the custody of the international criminal justice system. He had access to medical treatment and medical supervision and was also hospitalized during the final phase of his life. This stands in stark contrast to the fate of his victims: they were deprived of protection and medical aid, and thousands of them were also deprived of their right to life.

The STP describes the renewed public glorification of Mladić by high-ranking politicians in the Republika Srpska and Serbia as alarming. It is particularly alarming that this glorification is increasingly becoming part of public memory policy.

On the evening of his death, rallies and public events in honor of Mladić took place in numerous locations across the Republika Srpska and Serbia, including in Zvornik, as well as torchlight marches in Belgrade and Novi Sad. During these events, nationalist slogans and messages were also spread that were directed against coexistence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and mocked the victims of the crimes for which Mladić was responsible. Particularly disturbing were the scenes in Zvornik, where a crowd marched past a mosque while loudly chanting Mladić’s name—in a city where thousands of Bosniaks were expelled and murdered during the war.

Milorad Dodik, former president of the Republika Srpska, linked Mladić’s role to the “freedom” and “survival of the Serbian people,” declared that the Republika Srpska would not forget him, and described his death as “murder.” Radan Ostojić, Minister of Labor and Veterans’ and War Disabled Affairs of the Republika Srpska, called Mladić a “hero and fighter” and stated that his grave should become a place of pilgrimage for the Serbian people. The mayor of Laktaši, Miroslav Bojić, announced his intention to name a new street in the city center after Mladić. “The aim here is to permanently establish a convicted war criminal as a national icon. This sends a dangerous message to young people and future generations,” said Zulčić.

He also received support from Serbia right up until the end. Just a few days before Mladić’s death, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić advocated for his release on humanitarian grounds and his transfer to Serbia for medical care. Nor should we forget that, after his indictment, Mladić lived undisturbed in Serbia for years and was protected there by state and military institutions before he was finally arrested in 2011 and transferred to The Hague.

The Society for Threatened Peoples calls on the governments of the EU member states, the institutions of the European Union, and the Council of Europe to unequivocally reject the public glorification of Ratko Mladić and other war criminals who have been definitively convicted. Recognition of the judgments of international courts and respect for the victims must not be treated as a domestic political matter of Serbia or the Republika Srpska.

“International institutions must support those forces working to address these crimes, preserve the memory of the victims, and foster a culture of remembrance based on historical and judicially established facts. Anyone who wants a peaceful and democratic Europe must not remain silent when convicted war criminals are declared heroes,” Zulčić emphasizes.

You can reach Belma Zulčić, Director of the STP section in Bosnia and Herzegovina, at 23]E6?]9:3o2D0G378 or (+387) 61 220 883 or (+387) 33 213 707.