Croatia's Plenkovic Slams Serbia Over Honors for War Criminal Mladic
Speaking before world leaders during the 81st UN General Debate in New York, Plenkovic did not mince words. "The military and official honors accorded to Mladic in Serbia were an affront to his victims and to the judgments of international courts," he said.
Plenkovic argued that genuine reconciliation across Europe cannot happen without a direct reckoning with historical crimes, stressing that states owe it to victims to reject any institutional glorification of those responsible for atrocities. He went further, declaring that state participation in events honoring Mladic is "totally incompatible with the values of a union Serbia seeks to join."
The Croatian leader traced Mladic's campaign of violence back before its horrific culmination in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, noting it began earlier with the bombardment of Croatian cities, the killing of civilians, and the deliberate destruction of cultural and industrial infrastructure.
Mladic — infamously dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia" — was handed a life sentence in 2017 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed during the 1992–1995 conflict. He died in custody in The Hague this past August.
Shifting focus to the Middle East, Plenkovic pressed the international community to apply consistent legal standards to protect civilians and ensure unimpeded humanitarian access in Gaza. He reaffirmed Croatia's commitment to a negotiated two-state solution that would allow Israelis and Palestinians to coexist in peace and security.
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