The death of Ratko Mladic is not healing the wounds of the Balkan wars. On the contrary, Serbia's decision to send off the former Bosnian Serb commander with high state and military honors has immediately reignited the controversy over the glorification of convicted war criminals.
Mladic died on Thursday at the age of 84 in The Hague, where he was serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. His final conviction included responsibility for the Srebrenica genocide, where more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed in July 1995, as well as crimes during the siege of Sarajevo.
Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic said Mladic would receive “all military and state honors due to him.” The Serbian government is also ready to send a delegation to the Netherlands to collect the body, while the family will decide on the burial site.
The verdict carries special weight precisely because of what Mladic represents. The international court sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2017, a decision upheld on appeal in 2021. He was arrested in Serbia in 2011, after 16 years on the run.
Meanwhile, his glorification has begun. Tributes have been held in Republika Srpska, while Red Star Belgrade fans unfurled a banner during a Europa League match with the message: “General, eternal glory and thank you.” The Srebrenica Memorial has called for UEFA’s intervention.
In Srebrenica, the reaction is completely different. The director of the Memorial, Emir Suljagić, recalled that Mladić's death does not change the court decisions and does not make the mass graves disappear.
So, 31 years after the massacre, Serbia is preparing to give state honors to a man convicted of genocide. Mladic died in prison as a war criminal sentenced to life; in Belgrade he is preparing to be buried as a general with honors.
