RATKO MLADIC

Thousands of people have converged on the eastern Bosnian town of Srebrenica to mark the 27th anniversary of Europe's only acknowledged genocide since the Holocaust.

The Dutch government has formally apologized to soldiers who were sent as U.N. peacekeepers to defend the Bosnian enclave of Srebrenica with insufficient firepower and manpower to keep the peace.

An international organization formed to identify the dead and missing from the Balkan conflicts is preparing to send a team of forensics experts to Ukraine as the death toll mounts more than six weeks into the war caused by Russia’s invasion.

President Joe Biden has flatly called Russia’s Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for the unfolding onslaught in Ukraine, where hospitals and maternity wards have been bombed.

Serbia War Crimes Mural A police officer walks by a mural of former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic in Belgrade, Serbia, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. Police officers were deployed Tuesday at the site of a large wall painting in Belgrade of convicted Bosnian Serb wartime commander Ratko Mladic which rights activists wanted to remove. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) (Darko Vojinovic)BELGRADE, Serbia — (AP) — A group of European parliamentarians on Thursday urged the Serbian president and other government officials to stop glorifying convicted war criminals and denying genocide committed in Bosnia in the 1990s. “It is utterly unacceptable for an EU candidate country to deploy its police to protect a mural of convicted war criminal,” it added. “We urge Serbian authorities to stop denying Srebrenica genocide and glorifying convicted war criminals."

A group of European parliamentarians has urged the Serbian president and other government officials to stop glorifying convicted war criminals and denying genocide committed in Bosnia in the 1990s.

A German diplomat has taken office as the top international official in Bosnia.

Serbia Bosnia Genocide People walk by a mural of former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic vandalized with red paint in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, July 24, 2021. The Bosnian Serb wartime political leader Radovan Karadzic and his military commander Ratko Mladic were both convicted of genocide in Srebrenica by a special U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic) (Darko Vojinovic)SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina — (AP) — Bosnian Serb political representatives have pledged to block decision-making in the country’s institutions in protest over a recent move by the top international envoy in Bosnia to outlaw genocide denial. Dodik repeatedly said over the weekend that Inzko’s decision should serve as a final push for secession of Bosnian Serb lands from the rest of the country. But Bosnian Serb officials and neighboring Serbia have refused to accept the designation.

Bosnian Serb political leaders have pledged to block decision-making in the country's institutions to protest a recent move by the top international envoy in Bosnia to outlaw genocide denial.

The top international official in Bosnia has outlawed denial of genocide in the Balkan country.

Appeals judges quashed the not-guilty verdicts in 2015 and ordered the retrial that took place at the U.N. International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals. The verdicts Wednesday, which can be appealed, are the final U.N. prosecution for crimes committed during the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia. "It’s been too long in the making.”Even so, it offers an opportunity to pass the first judgment at an international court on Serbia's role in the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia. Vukusic said that in the history of the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague there has been no conviction of any Serbian official for crimes in Croatia and Bosnia. While in fact the local Serbs wouldn’t be able to fight a war for a week had it not been for Serbian support.”Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.

A United Nations court has convicted two former allies of late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic of aiding and abetting crimes committed by Serb paramilitaries in a Bosnian town in 1992.

Netherlands War Crimes Mladic Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic sits in the court room in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 8, 2021, where the United Nations court delivers its verdict in the appeal of Mladic against his convictions for genocide and other crimes and his life sentence for masterminding atrocities throughout the Bosnian war. His former political chief, ex-Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic, already is serving a life sentence after being convicted for the same crimes. Serge Brammertz, the prosecutor who finally brought both Karadzic and Mladic to justice, said Mladic “ranks among the most notorious war criminals in modern history” who abused his position of power to commit crimes including genocide. The court also rejected an appeal by prosecutors of Mladic’s acquittal on one other count of genocide linked to ethnic purges early in the war. Outside the court, another mother from Srebrenica, Munira Subasic had a message for young people in Serbia and the Serb part of Bosnia.

Netherlands War Crimes Mladic Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic sits in the court room in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, June 8, 2021, where the United Nations court delivers its verdict in the appeal of Mladic against his convictions for genocide and other crimes and his life sentence for masterminding atrocities throughout the Bosnian war. It also reinforces our shared resolve to prevent future atrocities from occurring anywhere in the world.”“My thoughts today are with all the surviving families of the many victims of Mladic’s atrocities. The presiding judge said the court dismissed Mladic’s appeal “in its entirety” and affirmed his life sentence. It also rejected an appeal by prosecutors of Mladic’s acquittal on one other count of genocide linked to ethnic purges early in the war. ___Associated Press writers Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, Sabina Niksic in Srebrenica, Bosnia, and videographer Aleksandar Furtula in The Hague contributed.

(Jerry Lampen/Pool via AP) (Jerry Lampen)THE HAGUE, Netherlands — (AP) — U.N. appeals judges on Tuesday upheld the conviction of former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic for genocide and other offenses during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war and confirmed his life sentence. Presiding Judge Prisca Matimba Nyambe of Zambia said the court dismissed Mladic’s appeal “in its entirety” and affirmed his life sentence. Mladic joins his former political master, ex-Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic, in serving a life sentence for masterminding ethnic bloodshed in the Bosnian war that left more than 100,000 dead and millions homeless. Once a swaggering military strongman known as the “Butcher of Bosnia,” Mladic appeared upbeat as he entered the courtroom, mimicking photographers as he sat down. “I cannot accept any verdict,” Serb war veteran Milije Radovic from the eastern Bosnian town of Foca told The Associated Press.

The judgment means the 79-year-old former general who terrorized Bosnia throughout the war will spend the rest of his life in prison.

(AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool) (Peter Dejong)THE HAGUE, Netherlands — (AP) — U.N. appeals judges have upheld the convictions of former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic for genocide and other offenses during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war and confirmed his life sentence. THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic hear s Tuesday if U.N. judges have upheld or overturned his convictions and life sentence for masterminding genocide and other atrocities throughout Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Mladic's former political leader, Radovan Karadzic, also was convicted of the same crimes and is serving a life sentence. “I cannot accept any verdict,” Serb war veteran Milije Radovic from the eastern Bosnian town of Foca told The Associated Press. And for the Serb people, he is an icon.”But the shadow of Mladic and Karadzic spreads far beyond the Balkans.

War Crimes Bosnia Mladic Verdict FILE — In this Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017 file photo, Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic enters the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, to hear the verdict in his genocide trial. U.N. judges on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 deliver their final ruling on the conviction of former Bosnian Serb army chief Radko Mladic on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during Bosnia’s 1992-95 ethnic carnage. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool, File) (Peter Dejong)THE HAGUE, Netherlands — (AP) — Former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic will hear Tuesday if U.N. judges have upheld or overturned his convictions and life sentence for masterminding genocide and other atrocities throughout Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Mladic was found guilty of genocide for leading the 1995 massacre in the eastern enclave of Srebrenica of more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys. “I cannot accept any verdict,” Serb war veteran Milije Radovic from the eastern Bosnian town of Foca told The Associated Press.

U.N. judges have upheld the conviction of former Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic for genocide and other offenses during Bosnia’s 1992-95 war and affirmed his life sentence.

War Crimes Bosnia Mladic Verdict FILE — In this Friday, June 3, 2011 file photo, former Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic sits in the court room during his initial appearance at the U.N.'s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. Many hope the final ruling will bring closure for the victims' families and drive home the message that there is no impunity for war crimes. Stolk said the reaction in the Balkans to this and other war crimes trials is predictably mixed. “I cannot accept any verdict,” said Serb war veteran Milije Radovic from the eastern Bosnian town of Foca. One such location is Prijedor in northwest Bosnia, where residents last week commemorated over 100 children killed by Bosnian Serbs.

War Crimes Bosnia Mladic Verdict FILE — In this Friday, June 3, 2011 file photo, former Bosnian Serb Gen. Ratko Mladic sits in the court room during his initial appearance at the U.N.'s Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. Many hope the final ruling will bring closure for the victims' families and drive home the message that there is no impunity for war crimes. Stolk said the reaction in the Balkans to this and other war crimes trials is predictably mixed. “I cannot accept any verdict,” said Serb war veteran Milije Radovic from the eastern Bosnian town of Foca. One such location is Prijedor in northwest Bosnia, where residents last week commemorated over 100 children killed by Bosnian Serbs.

U.N. judges will soon deliver their final ruling on the conviction of former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during Bosnia’s 1992-95 ethnic carnage.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Fikret Grabovica wants to see at least some remorse from wartime Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic when U.N. judges deliver their final verdict for genocide and other war crimes committed during Bosnia’s 1990s ethnic carnage. Grabovica's 11-year-old daughter, Irma, was among the 10,000 civilians killed in the relentless shelling and sniping that Serb troops under Mladic inflicted on the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

FILE - In this July 13, 1995 file photo, Dutch U.N. peacekeepers sit on top of an armored personnel carrier while Muslim refugees from Srebrenica, eastern Bosnia, gather in the village of Potocari, just north of Srebrenica. In 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that the Netherlands was partially liable in the deaths of some 350 Muslim men murdered by Bosnian Serb forces during the massacre. The U.N. also has been criticized for failing to authorize NATO air strikes to support the lightly-armed Dutch troops in July 1995 as they came under attack. Prime Minister Mark Rutte made the same point in a video message last year marking the 25th anniversary of the massacre. An organization of Dutchbat III veterans also did not immediately respond to a request for a reaction.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2017 file photo, Bosnian Serb military chief Ratko Mladic enters the Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, to hear the verdict in his genocide trial. Mladic is appealing Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020 against his convictions for crimes including genocide committed throughout the 1992-95 Bosnian War. At a hearing last month, Mladic's legal team warned that the former general could be suffering from early stage dementia. His former political master, Radovan Karadzic, also was convicted of crimes including genocide for overseeing atrocities by Bosnian Serb forces during the war. His appeal was rejected almost in its entirety and judges raised his sentence from 40 years to life imprisonment.

In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces massacred over 8,000 men and boys, an event that is officially marked on Saturday July 10, 2020. With Bosnian Serb troops taking control over eastern Bosnia which borders Serbia thousands of Bosniak Muslim refugees streamed into Srebrenica. Within the next 10 days, however, Bosnian Serb troops killed the male prisoners and hunted down many of those who tried to escape through the surrounding hills. In an attempt to hide the massacre, the Bosnian Serbs buried the bodies in mass graves, only to dig them out and move later. Bosnian Serbs, however, still largely deny the scope of the killings and refuse to acknowledge they amounted to a genocide.