Croatia: Ratko Mladic's death marks end of 'symbol of defeated ideology'

Croatia's Ministry of Veterans Affairs has responded to the news of Ratko Mladic's death, characterizing him as a symbol of a defeated ideology responsible for immense suffering.

The ministry emphasized that from Croatia's perspective, Mladic's death signifies the departure of one of the individuals most accountable for war crimes committed during the Greater Serbian aggression. They noted that as a country victimized by the aggression of the Milošević regime, Mladic's passing marks the end of a figure responsible for brutal war crimes, civilian killings, and persecution in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

While the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had already sentenced Mladic to life imprisonment for genocide in Srebrenica, crimes against humanity, and other war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croatian ministry pointed out his lack of accountability for crimes committed on Croatian soil. They specifically mentioned the massacre in Škabrnja in November 1991, where Serb forces killed civilians and captured Croatian defenders. The ministry expressed regret that Mladic never faced justice for these crimes in Croatia, an injustice that continues to affect the victims' families.

In conclusion, the ministry stated that Ratko Mladic remains a symbol of the failure of an ideology and regime that left behind widespread destruction and thousands of murdered civilians. The UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) confirmed Mladic's death in The Hague, where he passed away while hospitalized, initiating standard investigative procedures.