Albania’s Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Ferit Hoxha, has condemned former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić following his death, stressing that his passing cannot erase his responsibility for some of the worst crimes committed during the wars in the former Yugoslavia.
“Ratko Mladić, a brutal murderer, convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment, has died in prison,” Hoxha wrote in a social media post.
Referring to Mladić’s conviction, Hoxha recalled the words of presiding judge Alphons Orie, who said when handing down the life sentence that the crimes committed by Mladić ranked “among the most horrific known to humanity.”
Hoxha also referred to former Serbian and Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević, whom he described as Mladić’s political backer and “the architect of so much of the tragedy of the Balkans.”
He noted that Milošević died in The Hague in 2006 before his trial was completed, describing his death as “a painful reminder of the limits of justice when perpetrators leave this world before the full judicial process can be completed.”
“But death, in either case, whether after conviction or during judicial proceedings, does not erase guilt and cannot rewrite historical truth,” Hoxha said. “Srebrenica, Sarajevo, Kosovo and all the victims of the wars in the former Yugoslavia deserve neither oblivion nor revisionism.”
The Albanian foreign minister also stressed the importance of justice, healing, reconciliation, cooperation and a shared European vision to ensure that “such monsters and their policies never return to the region or anywhere else.”
Mladić died at the age of 84 while serving a life sentence in The Hague. He was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.
His death has triggered renewed debate across the region over how Mladić should be remembered, with nationalist figures in Serbia and Republika Srpska portraying him as a military hero despite his conviction by international courts.
