Serbia to Grant State Honors to Convicted War Criminal Ratko Mladic Following Death in Prison
7 sources across 7 countries
Who reported this
- La Tercera
- France 24
- ANSA
- NRC
- El Pais
- The Guardian
- Associated Press
What the colours mean
- Left
- Centre-left
- Centre
- Centre-right
- Right
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Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, has died at age 84 in his cell in The Hague. Following the announcement of his death, the Serbian Minister of Justice, Nenad Vujic, stated that Mladic would receive all the military and state honors to which he is entitled. This decision has sparked widespread condemnation from survivors of the Bosnian war, memory associations, and international bodies. The European Union warned that the glorification of war criminals is contrary to fundamental European values and has no place in candidate countries. UN Secretary General António Guterres also cautioned those in power to refrain from denying the seriousness of the crimes committed.
Mladic was the architect of the Srebrenica genocide, where approximately 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed. During the Bosnian conflict between 1992 and 1995, forces under his command were responsible for the deaths of an estimated 100,000 people and the displacement of millions. He was serving a life sentence at the time of his death. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic criticized the international court for denying requests to transfer a terminally ill Mladic to a military hospital in Belgrade, describing the refusal as contrary to civilization.
Public reaction remains deeply polarized. In Serbia and the Republika Srpska, some supporters held spontaneous demonstrations and described Mladic as a hero who defended the Serbian people. Conversely, victims and human rights organizations in Sarajevo and Belgrade have called the state honors scandalous and an endorsement of genocidal ideology. Fons Orie, the judge who sentenced Mladic to life imprisonment, noted that while the court sought to provide justice for the victims, Mladic continues to be regarded as a hero by many in Serbia.
How each side framed it
- Centre-left
- These outlets emphasized the horror of the victims' experiences and the moral failure of glorifying a mass murderer.
- Centre
- These outlets focused on the factual contradiction between Mladic's convictions and the state honors he is receiving.
- Centre-right
- This outlet highlighted the internal Serbian controversy and the specific reactions of civil society organizations.
Sources
- Centre ANSA: The shock announcement, Serbia wants to honor Mladic with state funerals
- Centre Associated Press: Serbia’s president criticizes UN court for not releasing war criminal Mladic to die at home - AP News
- Centre-left El Pais: The death of Ratko Mladic: hero honors in Serbia, painful memory in Bosnia
- Centre France 24: Former Serbian general R.Mladic, convicted of genocide, will have national funerals
- Centre France 24: Ratko Mladic: the indignation of victims facing honors for the "butcher of the Balkans"
- Centre-right La Tercera: Serbia: controversy over announcement of state funerals for war criminal Ratko Mladic
- Centre NRC: Judge who sentenced Ratko Mladic to life: 'I also see that he is regarded as a hero'
- Centre-left The Guardian: ‘The butcher may be gone, but to many he is a hero’: victims condemn glorification of Mladić
100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.