Croatian PM slams Serbia at UN over Mladic honors

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Tuesday delivered a scathing critique of Serbia at the United Nations General Assembly, condemning Belgrade's decision to grant military honors to the late convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic as an affront to international justice and genocide victims.

'Affront to victims'

Speaking during the 81st UN General Debate in New York, Plenkovic stated that authentic reconciliation across Europe requires confronting historical crimes without equivocation. "The military and official honors accorded to Mladic in Serbia were an affront to his victims and to the judgments of international courts," he told world leaders, arguing that states must respect victims and reject the institutional glorification of perpetrators.

Plenkovic added that state participation in events praising the former Bosnian Serb military commander remains "totally incompatible with the values of a union Serbia seeks to join," referring to Belgrade's longstanding bid for European Union membership. He emphasized that respecting international court judgments forms a cornerstone of regional stability and European integration.

Srebrenica and Croatian suffering

The Croatian premier recalled that while Mladic's atrocities culminated in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide — where more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed — his campaign of violence began earlier with the bombardment of Croatian cities, civilian murders and the systematic destruction of cultural and industrial infrastructure during the 1991-1995 conflicts. Mladic earned notoriety as the "Butcher of Bosnia" for his role in the bloodshed.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced Mladic to life imprisonment in 2017 for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Bosnian War. He died in custody at The Hague in August this year while awaiting the final resolution of his appeal.

Middle East context

Turning to the Middle East, Plenkovic emphasized that the international community must apply the same legal standards to protect civilians and secure unhindered humanitarian access in Gaza. He reaffirmed Zagreb's backing for a negotiated two-state solution permitting Israelis and Palestinians to coexist peacefully and securely.