Ratko Mladić, former commander of the Bosnian Serb army and one of the most controversial and bloody figures of the wars that accompanied the dissolution of Yugoslavia, has died in The Hague. He was 84 years old and was serving a life sentence for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
The news of his death was reported by Lidija Pavićević, Undersecretary of State at the Serbian Ministry of Human Rights and Minorities, after receiving the information from the former general's son, Darko Mladić, as reported by the Tanjug agency and picked up by ANSA.
The health condition of the former commander had been severely compromised for some time. Since 2024, he had been in a prison hospital facility in The Hague and, according to reports, had been bedridden for about a year and a half. In recent months, Belgrade had requested his release on humanitarian grounds, claiming Mladić was terminally ill and had suffered one or more strokes.
These requests were denied by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, which stated that the inmate was receiving necessary palliative care at the institution.
Link to From Military Commander to Defendant for SrebrenicaFrom Military Commander to Defendant for Srebrenica
Ratko Mladić's name remains inseparable from the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and, above all, from the Srebrenica massacre of July 1995.
As commander of the Republika Srpska army during the conflict, Mladić led the Bosnian Serb forces during the most dramatic phase of the war. After the capture of the Srebrenica enclave, declared a "safe area" by the United Nations, over 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed.
International justice has classified those killings as genocide.
In 2017, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced Mladić to life imprisonment, finding him responsible, among other things, for the genocide of Srebrenica, the persecution and deportation of the non-Serb population, and the campaign of terror against civilians during the siege of Sarajevo. The life sentence was upheld on appeal in 2021.
Before facing the judges, Mladić managed to evade capture for about sixteen years. He was arrested in Serbia in May 2011 and subsequently transferred to The Hague.
Link to A Death That Does Not Heal the WoundA Death That Does Not Heal the Wound
The death of the former general does not erase one of the deepest divisions left by the Balkan wars.
For the survivors and the families of the victims, Mladić remains the man condemned by international justice for some of the most serious crimes committed in Europe since the end of World War II.
The Mothers of Srebrenica, reacting to the news of his death, emphasized that his passing cannot alter or diminish the crimes established by international tribunals. The death of the perpetrator of the crimes, they argue, does not close the story and certainly does not change the facts judicially established.
In contrast, some reactions from Serbia and Republika Srpska have been different.
The nationalist and pro-government Belgrade newspaper Politika remembered Mladić as the commander of the Bosnian Serb army and "symbol of the defense of Republika Srpska," a perspective that shows how deeply divided the memory of the war remains even today.
Link to Dodik: "We Will Not Forget His Role"Dodik: "We Will Not Forget His Role"
Milorad Dodik, former president of Republika Srpska, also paid tribute to the former general, expressing condolences to the family.
Dodik stated that Republika Srpska "will not forget his role" and expressed regret that Mladić could not spend his last days outside prison due to his health condition.
In his statements, Dodik portrayed the former commander as a protagonist in the struggle of the Bosnian Serb people and once again contested the interpretation of his responsibilities.
These words stand in stark contrast to the final judgments of international justice, which attributed individual criminal responsibility to Mladić for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Link to The Weight of Memory in the BalkansThe Weight of Memory in the Balkans
The death of Ratko Mladić comes more than thirty years after Srebrenica, yet it shows how the past continues to weigh on the present in the Balkans.
The figure of the former general remains at the center of two radically different memories: that of the victims and international verdicts, which document the responsibilities for genocide and other crimes, and that of sectors of Serbian nationalism that continue to portray him as a commander who defended his people.
(Associated Medias) - All rights reserved