VIDEO: Night action in Novi Sad sparks controversy after mural honoring Ratko Mladić is defaced

Red paint covered a mural dedicated to Ratko Mladić in a nighttime action in Novi Sad, footage published by the city's Green-Left Front shows. The group said it would not allow the city to be defaced by the glorification of a convicted war criminal.

“Novi Sad has always been a city of freedom. We will not allow anyone to defile it by glorifying a convicted war criminal. And we will not forget who is responsible for the collapse,” the group said in the post accompanying the video. It added: “Justice may be slow, but it is attainable. That is why we showed what we think of a mural that glorifies crimes and suffering. To victory!”

Mladić, the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, received final convictions at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for genocide in Srebrenica, crimes against humanity and violations of the laws and customs of war.

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Novi Sad has always been a city of freedom. We will not allow anyone to defile it by glorifying a convicted war criminal. And we will not forget who is responsible for the collapse.

Murals and graffiti bearing his name have long produced conflict in Serbia. Some view them as expressions of nationalist remembrance, while others see them as public glorification of a convicted criminal. The Novi Sad action has drawn accusations of treason and threats of retaliation in comments. Students involved in blockades distanced themselves from it, stressing that the Green-Left Front is not a student movement.

The footage does not show who originally painted the mural or whether the incident was reported to police. The post also tied the dispute over Mladić's image to the unresolved argument over responsibility for the collapse at Novi Sad railway station, as Serbia's pre-election tensions continue.

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Justice may be slow, but it is attainable. That is why we showed what we think of a mural that glorifies crimes and suffering. To victory!