By a final judgment of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in 2021, Mladić was stripped of his rank in the Army of Serbia, previously the Army of Yugoslavia, pursuant to Article 185 of the Law on the Army of Serbia. As a result, he also lost the rights associated with that rank, including state and military honors. By granting honors to a convicted war criminal, the Government of Serbia and the Ministry of Defense violated the Law on the Army.
Following the news of the war criminal’s death, the authorities in Serbia have, over the past seven days, created an atmosphere in which the denial of war crimes, and particularly the genocide in Srebrenica, has been promoted in public: murals and graffiti celebrating the war criminal have been painted, public gatherings have been held where messages of hatred are shouted and written, and religious services of the Serbian Orthodox Church have been held in Mladić’s honor.
Over the past week, citizens of Serbia have provided the Youth Initiative for Human Rights with information about a larger number of murals celebrating Mladić, which our organization will report to local municipal authorities.
On the Government of Serbia’s aircraft that transported Mladić’s body from The Hague, along with members of his family, was Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić, who last week also announced state and military honors for the war criminal. Mladić’s coffin was covered with the flags of Serbia and Republika Srpska, and six members of the Serbian Armed Forces in uniforms carried it off the aircraft. The announcement that a state memorial ceremony for Mladić will be held at the House of the Army on Saturday is likewise an example of the Ministry of Defense glorifying a war criminal.
During the transport from Belgrade airport, several members of the police and military saluted the motorcade carrying Mladić’s body. This constitutes an insult to the victims of Mladić’s crimes, but also to the representatives of Serbia’s prosecution and police who arrested and brought to justice the fugitive who was convicted of war crimes.
In the Youth Initiative for Human Rights’ report, State of Denial – Serbia 2025, we warned that the funeral of Nebojša Pavković, a war criminal who was buried in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens, would set a precedent for state and military honors to be granted to war criminals who die.
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos cancelled her visit to Serbia due to the glorification of Mladić during the transfer of his remains, while Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O’Flaherty condemned the glorification of Mladić by officials in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The 2023 research report Young People’s Attitudes Toward the Wars of the 1990s in Serbia, published by the Youth Initiative, shows that the majority of young people in Serbia do not view Ratko Mladić as a hero. Fewer than one-third of young people view him positively, while more than one-third view him negatively, and almost 40% of young people have no opinion about Mladić. The efforts of the authorities in Serbia to glorify Mladić as a hero are aimed at imposing war criminals as role models on younger generations. This is also evidenced by a statement made by Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić to TV Prva, in which he said that younger generations would remember Mladić “as someone who fought for his people and made a key contribution to the creation of Republika Srpska and the security of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
Without disputing the Mladić family’s right to a dignified funeral, the granting of state and military honors amounts to an identification of the crimes for which Mladić was convicted with society as a whole, for which state officials bear the greatest responsibility: Prime Minister Macut, Minister of Justice Vujić, Minister of Defense Gašić, and President of Serbia Vučić. In recent days, Minister Vujić and President Vučić have distinguished themselves as spokespersons for Ratko Mladić, unjustifiably accusing the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals of providing negligent medical treatment to Mladić. This is deeply immoral conduct on the part of Serbia’s government officials, conduct that the citizens of Serbia will be ashamed of in the future.
