The International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague sentenced the commander of the forces of the so-called Republika Srpska, retired general Ratko Mladić, to life imprisonment for the genocide committed in Srebrenica, the siege of Sarajevo and other war crimes.
This verdict ended the last major trial in The Hague. Ratko Mladić will be remembered as the "Bosnian butcher" and the zealous executor of the military part of the joint criminal enterprise from October 1991 to November 30, 1995: the elimination of Muslim and Croat life from the territories claimed by the Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It is interesting that the court panel decided that there was no genocide in Prijedor and five other municipalities, because the number of civilians killed was relatively small compared to Srebrenica. Such a decision introduces a new element in the assessment of what constitutes genocide. Namely, in addition to the fundamental element that constitutes the definition of genocide - proving the intention to eliminate a certain group - the court panel introduced the number of victims as another "unit of measurement." Officializing the number of victims as one of the criteria could complicate the future determination of genocide and the analysis of motives, reduced to a dispute over numbers. If 1.000 victims is the magic number that constitutes genocide in addition to proven intent, does that mean that 999 victims should be treated as the result of a simple criminal impulse? Is it therefore a lesser crime?
The judgment against Ratko Mladić rests on two basic anchors. The first is the overwhelming amount of evidence in support of the accusation. Documents, orders, video materials and diary entries left behind by Mladić himself, as well as documentation of the command structure of the army, the so-called Republika Srpska clearly shows the intention to commit genocide. Regardless of the efforts of frothing nationalists and crime apologists, the validity of this evidence cannot be disputed. The testimonies of the survivors are additional stones in the criminal mosaic, which Mladić worked tirelessly to complete during the 1990s.
The second is the fact that several of Mladic's subordinates have already been convicted of genocide and war crimes. His deputy, General Radislav Krstić, and General Zdravko Tolimir and high-ranking VRS officers Ljubiša Beara, Vujadin Popović, Milan Gvero and Vinko Pandurević were sentenced to long prison terms. Moreover, during his trial, General Krstić directly accused Mladić and five other VRS officers of having ordered the massacre of civilians in Srebrenica.
For many Serbs throughout the former Yugoslavia and the world, Ratko Mladić will remain a hero, a patriot and a great warrior who fought to protect his people and his Orthodox faith from the "dark forces of Islam", Catholic Croats and the conquering capitalist West. For them, the International Criminal Court in The Hague will always be a "political court" that was established to "punish the Serbian people". There is no mountain of evidence to shake their faith in the innocence of their favorite warlord.
It is worth recalling the recent history: after the authorities in Serbia kept an eye on Ratko Mladić for 15 years, they were forced to arrest him and hand him over to The Hague Court in May 2011. Moreover, ten years ago, the current leader of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, is about to name one of Belgrade's streets after Ratko Mladić.
Those who are more optimistic believe that at some point there will come a moment in Serbia to face the consequences of the fact that the state authorities there protected and hid this convicted war criminal for years. The rest of the world that thinks rationally about the recent Balkan past knows that some things will never happen. Those among us who base their position on the events of the war on the evidence and witnesses of survivors see Mladić as one of the most notorious criminals in Europe after the Second World War.
The verdict against Ratko Mladić will not contribute to the process of reconciliation in the former Yugoslavia, if such a process is even possible. The International Court of Justice in The Hague was not established as part of the reconciliation mechanism and has never had that role. The memories of Serbs, Croats and Bosnian Muslims of the war years and their perceptions of responsibility represent three solitudes that meet and touch only and only in the courtroom of the International Tribunal. Beyond that, there is a theatrical performance of coexistence while the political elites from the war days continue to rule.
Unfortunately, the shadows of this and other war criminals from the 1990s will mark the edges of our space for a long time to come. Ratko Mladić will remain a significant factor in the construction of the Serbian national imaginary of a nation surrounded by mortal enemies. For Bosnian Muslims and Croats, he will remain an important link in strengthening awareness of their collective sacrifice and Serbian collective guilt. The war trenches will not be covered, and young people will continue their exodus from the Balkans in search of a normal life elsewhere.
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