PRESS RELEASE, August 30, 2026
CIVIL – Center for Freedom expresses its strongest condemnation of all forms of denial, relativization, minimization, and justification of the genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes for which Ratko Mladić was convicted by a final judgment. We most strongly condemn his portrayal as a hero, protector, or victim, as well as the deliberate silencing of court-established facts in some of the media and political reactions following his death.
Ratko Mladić did not die as a “legendary general,” but as a finally convicted war criminal serving a life sentence for the Srebrenica genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His death does not erase the crimes, does not change the verdict, and does not diminish the pain of the victims, survivors, and their families.
Our thoughts and our solidarity belong to them.
There are no “two truths” about the genocide. There are final judgments, proven facts, mass graves, and thousands of families who have been living with the consequences of the crimes for more than three decades.
Silence about crimes is not neutral journalism
CIVIL most strongly condemns the way some media in North Macedonia and the region reported the news of Mladić’s death, omitting or marginalizing the genocide, crimes against humanity, the bloody siege of Sarajevo, and the terror against the civilian population, as well as his final verdict.
CIVIL does not dispute the right to editorial choice. However, when the crimes and victims are systematically removed from the biography of a finally convicted war criminal, while the ranks, uniform, military career, and nationalist myths are retained, it is no longer a simple omission, but a deliberately created information gap. It represents a dangerous historical and political beautification of the crime and complicity with the criminal.
The uncritical transmission of propaganda messages from Belgrade and Moscow, without court facts and without the voice of the victims, contributes to the normalization of revisionism and nationalist policies that brought the region to war, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. With this, a new, symbolic violence is committed against the victims and survivors: the crime is committed once again, this time against truth, memory, and human dignity.
A government official and a ruling party must not glorify a war criminal
Particularly worrying and highly unacceptable are the posts of the Democratic Party of Serbs in Macedonia – DPSM, whose president Ivan Stoiljković is a minister in the Government of North Macedonia, as well as the post of the director of the Agency for Realization of the Rights of Communities, Dalibor Kitanović.
DPSM presented Mladić in a positive and heroic context, as a general who served his people and whom “history will remember”. Kitanović went even further, publishing a photomontage in which Mladić, together with Chetnik commander Draža Mihailović and other figures, is presented as one of the “generals of the heavenly army”.
These posts cannot be reduced to the private opinions of marginal individuals. We are talking about a party that is part of the ruling coalition, led by a minister, and a director of a state institution whose main task is the realization and protection of the rights of the communities.
Ivan Stoiljković bears political, legal, and institutional responsibility for the public actions of the party he leads. Dalibor Kitanović bears personal, legal, and institutional responsibility for his post.
Withdrawing or deleting the posts does not cancel the responsibility. Glorification does not cease to be glorification after it is deleted from social networks.
The government’s response is late, selective, and insufficient
The response so far, conveyed through certain media as the position of the Government, evaluating Kitanović’s post as unacceptable and demanding him to withdraw it or resign from his position, represents only a partial distancing. It is not enough.
The response does not cover the post by DPSM, does not establish the political and legal responsibility of Minister Ivan Stoiljković, and does not contain a formal decision or concrete institutional consequence. Even more unacceptable is leaving the possibility for Kitanović to remain in office if he simply withdraws the post. Not only can he not remain in office, but he must face the law.
CIVIL demands:
The Government of North Macedonia, at a formal session, to publicly and unequivocally condemn the glorification of Ratko Mladić and the denial, minimization, and justification of the crimes for which he was convicted;
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski to initiate a procedure for the dismissal of Dalibor Kitanović, and the competent institutions and the prosecution to initiate procedures for his legal responsibility;
To establish the political and institutional responsibility of Minister Ivan Stoiljković and initiate an appropriate procedure for his dismissal and legal responsibility;
DPSM to withdraw the disputed post, publicly apologize to the victims, and unequivocally recognize the final international verdicts;
VMRO-DPMNE, VLEN, and ZNAM, as well as all other partners in the ruling coalition, to turn their public positions into concrete political decisions and show that there is no place for the glorification of war criminals in the Government and that they will be responsible actors in protecting the public from these heinous phenomena;
The Public Prosecutor’s Office to open a case and determine whether the posts meet the legal elements for criminal responsibility under Article 407-a of the Criminal Code and other relevant regulations;
All competent institutions to act within their powers, without political calculations and without selectivity.
CIVIL notes and welcomes the public condemnations that arrived from several political parties, including SDA Macedonia, SDSM, VLEN, DUI, and LDP. However, party statements cannot replace the formal responsibility of the Government and the institutions.
Solidarity with the democratic forces in Serbia and the region
Condemning the crimes for which Ratko Mladić has been finally convicted, as well as his glorification, does not represent hostility towards the Serbian people. On the contrary, this is an expression of solidarity with the democratic organizations, independent media, civic initiatives, intellectuals, and citizens in Serbia and the region who oppose genocide denial, the glorification of war criminals, and nationalist policies of hate.
It must be remembered: presenting a finally convicted war criminal as a hero and a symbol of the entire Serbian people is an insult to all Serbs, especially to those who have opposed nationalism for decades, defended court-established facts, and guarded the dignity of the victims.
No political party and no official has the right to abuse ethnic feelings and speak on behalf of an entire community to justify or glorify Mladić.
CIVIL expresses solidarity with the independent media, civil society organizations, intellectuals, and citizens in Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the entire region who consistently defend truth, justice, and the dignity of the victims.
Unacceptable: Belgrade turned the criminal into a victim, Moscow attacked international justice
CIVIL most strongly condemns the dominant political narrative of official Belgrade, in which Mladić is presented as a victim, while international courts and the West are portrayed as his persecutors.
The statements of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who accused the United Nations court of “uncivilized” behavior and said they wanted Mladić to die in prison, shift the focus from the victims and the crimes to the alleged suffering of the convicted criminal. Announcements for state and military honors, if realized, would represent a direct institutional glorification of a man convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
Such a policy does not serve the citizens of Serbia. It serves authoritarian and nationalist structures that for decades have used wars, victims, and historical traumas to maintain political power and create new divisions in the region.
CIVIL also strongly condemns the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, which expressed “deepest condolences” and described Mladić’s judicial treatment as evidence of “anti-Serb bias” and double standards.
This is a continuation of Moscow’s long-standing policy of instrumentalizing historical traumas, fueling nationalism, and undermining international law, democratic institutions, and the European perspective of the Western Balkans.
European institutions must produce concrete measures
The European Commission has already stated that the glorification of war criminals is contrary to the most fundamental European values and that there is no place for it either in the European Union or in the candidate countries. That position must be translated into concrete policy.
CIVIL calls on the European Union, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and democratic governments:
To register and publicly condemn cases of genocide denial and glorification of war criminals in official reports and European integration processes;
To condition financial and political support on consistent respect for international law, final verdicts, and democratic values;
To make decisions on suspending or redirecting financial assistance used by governments, state institutions, political structures, and officials who promote or tolerate genocide denial and the glorification of convicted war criminals;
To consider concrete political and financial measures against responsible officials and institutions in cases of severe or repeated violations of these principles;
At the same time, to protect and significantly increase direct support for independent media, civil society organizations, victims’ associations, educational institutions, independent intellectuals, and human rights defenders in the region who have been facing pressure and threats for a long time.
Citizens and democratic forces must not be punished for the actions of authoritarian and nationalist elites. Therefore, every financial measure must be precise, proportionate, and accompanied by greater support for those fighting against revisionism and hate policies.
To protect the people who defend the truth
Independent journalists, civil society organizations, intellectuals, and human rights defenders who oppose nationalism today are exposed to organized smear campaigns, political and social isolation, hate speech, threats, and direct pressure.
CIVIL calls on the international community to establish more efficient and immediate mechanisms for their financial, legal, physical, and digital protection. Fast and flexible support, legal aid, emergency and sustainability funds, regional solidarity networks, and unequivocal diplomatic support are needed.
Democratic voices throughout the region are among the first targets of the same propaganda and political structures that present Mladić as a hero. Their protection is an investment in the peace, security, and democratic future of the entire region.
Call to the citizens
CIVIL calls on all citizens to join the public resistance against historical revisionism, genocide denial, and nationalist policies of hate.
Let us not allow convicted war criminals to be presented as heroes in our name.
Let us check the facts, let us not share propaganda, let us demand legal and political responsibility for hate speech, let us support independent media and organizations that defend the truth, and let us show solidarity with the victims and survivors.
The glorification of war criminals is a dangerous policy. It normalizes violence, humiliates the victims, and prepares the public for new divisions and conflicts.
No reconciliation without justice.
No justice without accountability.
No accountability without truth.
No European future for those who glorify war criminals.
CIVIL – Center for Freedom
Skopje, August 30, 2026