The death of former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladić has been covered in markedly different ways across Serbian media, with a significant portion of reporting emphasizing his role as a “general” and presenting him as an important figure in Serbian history, while downplaying the fact that he was convicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
From Serbia’s public broadcaster RTS to tabloids such as Novosti, Alo and Informer, coverage following Mladić’s death has reflected a narrative in which he is primarily portrayed through his military role and as a figure respected by part of Serbian society.
RTS has reported on Mladić’s life sentence and his convictions for war crimes, crimes against humanity and the Srebrenica genocide. However, the public broadcaster has also aired statements questioning the medical treatment he received while in The Hague.
That coverage has been accompanied by claims that authorities in The Hague failed to adequately respond to requests from Mladić’s family and Belgrade for his transfer to Serbia for medical treatment.
Serbian tabloids have adopted an even more pronounced approach in their coverage of the former commander.
Alo and Informer have published headlines and reports portraying Mladić in a largely heroic light while attacking his critics and those who hold him responsible for crimes committed during the Bosnian war.
In some of these reports, attention has shifted away from the victims and the findings of international courts toward Mladić’s treatment in The Hague, statements from his family and arrangements for his funeral.
Portraying Mladić as a Defender of Republika Srpska
Another central element of the narrative has been the portrayal of Mladić as a figure who “defended” Republika Srpska.
RTS, reporting from a memorial service in Banja Luka, broadcast statements describing Mladić as the commander of an army that, according to his supporters, “defended Republika Srpska.”
Such framing places the former commander within a nationalist narrative of military defense while giving comparatively less prominence to the extensive judicial findings establishing his responsibility for some of the most serious crimes committed during the Bosnian war.
Mladić was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, including his role in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, in which more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed.
State Honors for a Convicted War Criminal
Beyond media coverage, significant attention has focused on the Serbian government’s position regarding Mladić’s funeral.
Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujić has said that Mladić will be buried with the highest state and military honors.
Vujić said that Mladić was a general and that the relevant protocols would be respected, while noting that the family would determine the location of the burial.
The decision to honor a man convicted of genocide with state and military ceremonies has triggered criticism both within the region and internationally.
Kearns: His Genocidal Ambitions Did Not Die With Him
British MP Alicia Kearns has criticized Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and the Serbian government over their approach to the Srebrenica genocide and the planned honors for Mladić.
In a post on X, Kearns said that Vučić and the Serbian government deny the Srebrenica genocide while preparing to give full honors to the man she described as responsible for ordering the genocide.
“Vučić and the Serbian government deny the Srebrenica genocide. Now they will bury the man who gave the orders, Ratko Mladić, with full honours,” Kearns wrote.
She also stressed that Mladić’s death does not mean the end of the ideology associated with him.
“Mladić is dead, but millions of Bosniaks continue to live. Every life lived is a victory against him and his genocidal ambitions,” she said.
Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović has also reacted to attempts to relativize the crimes, emphasizing that Mladić was finally convicted of genocide in Srebrenica and other serious crimes.
The Battle Over Historical Memory
Mladić’s death has therefore become more than the end of the life of a convicted war criminal. It has exposed a continuing struggle over how the wars of the 1990s are remembered and represented in Serbia.
International courts established Mladić’s criminal responsibility for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Yet parts of Serbia’s political and media establishment continue to frame him primarily as a military commander and symbol of Republika Srpska, while shifting attention toward his family, medical treatment and funeral.
The contrast between the judicial record and the public narrative is significant.
For victims and survivors, the central issue is not how Mladić is remembered as a military figure, but the crimes for which he was convicted and the thousands of lives destroyed under his command.
The decision to accord state and military honors to a convicted perpetrator of genocide, combined with media narratives that glorify or sanitize his legacy, risks reinforcing precisely the historical revisionism that regional and international officials have repeatedly warned against.
Mladić’s death may have ended his life, but it has not ended the political struggle over his legacy—or the question of whether the crimes of the Bosnian war will be remembered through the record of international justice or through nationalist narratives that seek to rehabilitate those responsible.
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