World · World News Bureau
Red Star Belgrade fans display banner honouring Balkan war crimes suspect
Supporters of the Serbian football club unveiled a tifo featuring Ratko Mladic during a derby match against rivals Partizan Belgrade. The gesture reignited debate over how the former military commander is commemorated in the region.
LSN World News ·
Red Star Belgrade fans displayed a large banner tribute to Ratko Mladic during the Belgrade derby against Partizan on Saturday, drawing criticism from observers who noted the prominence given to a figure convicted of war crimes during the Balkan conflicts of the 1990s.
Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 2017 for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. He remains a polarizing figure in the region, particularly among nationalist constituencies in Serbia.
The tifo display underscores the enduring political and social divisions in the Balkans concerning accountability for wartime atrocities. Such commemorative gestures by football supporters have periodically drawn international attention and sparked diplomatic tensions.
Serbian authorities have faced ongoing pressure from the European Union and international human rights organizations to discourage public glorification of individuals convicted of serious international crimes as a condition of closer integration with Western institutions.