Was Ratko Mladic “Bosnian Serb” Military Chief? By Ambassador mo



General Ratko Mladic was the Serbian military’s chief in Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH), and not "Bosnian Serb" Military Commander. He was under the command of Belgrade throughout the wars in BiH and Croatia. He was paid his salary and then his pension by the Serbian military from Belgrade. His so called Bosnian Serb Army was totally reliant on logistics to men to leadership to strategic objective upon Slobodan Milosevic’s Belgrade regime throughout the war(s). There would not have been a Bosnian Serb Army without the Serbian military (still then calling itself the “Yugoslav Army” or JNA).



So why do some insist upon referring to him as the “Bosnian Serb” commander?

Perhaps it is not knowing or just laziness in terminology. Regardless though, the misidentification has a history and a purpose back then. Ratko Mladic began the wars as Belgrade’s (JNA’s) officer in Croatia. He was then ordered by the JNA command into BiH. As the conflict was rapidly escalated upon BiH, and particularly its civilian population, the UN Security Council demanded that all JNA (and other foreign forces) be withdrawn from BiH. (Resolution 752 – May 15, 1992).



A couple of weeks later, after we had worked and succeeded to have BiH admitted as a UN member state, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 757, which re-enforced Resolution 757, and then initiated a set of sanctions against “Serbia and Montenegro” for failure to withdraw and implement Resolution 752. As weeks became months though, it was evident that there was still no withdrawal but rather an escalation. However, there was no will to confront the Serbian forces from the ranks of the “P-5” countries (Permanent Members of UNSC) and a purported fear for the safety of UN forces (UNPROFOR) already within BiH presumably to oversee the ceasefire recently arranged in Croatia.) There was neither will to allow the BiH Army to acquire the weapons to defend and/or to engage international forces to stop the Serbian/Montenegrin military and paramilitary violating of BiH’s sovereignty and territorial integrity as well as the human rights of its citizens.



Changing Identity by Altering Patches on Military Uniforms

Soon, the JNA units in BiH had merely changed patches on their uniform from “JNA” to “Army of Republika Srpska.” Then UN commander General Lewis McKenzie and apparently the UN hierarchy under then UNSG Boutros Ghali went along with the charade and by non-action effectively deemed Resolution 752 satisfied and effectively disabled the UN’s first presumed attempt at ending the conflict, aggression and genocide directed at BiH. Ratko Mladic became the “Bosnian Serb” commander and no longer the JNA or Belgrade’s commander and this by design or coincidence was opportune for those who wanted to avoid confronting his Serbian army violating BiH’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in violation of the UN Charter (BiH had become UN Member – May 22, 1992) as well as committing by then grave violations of international humanitarian law..



Even here though, Resolution 752 (and 757 by extension) was still ignored. The Resolution (Para 4) had called upon JNA and “elements of the Croatian Army” to be withdrawn:

“or be subject to the authority of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or be disbanded and disarmed with their weapons placed under effective international monitoring, and requests the Secretary-General to consider without delay what international assistance could be provided in this connection.”



The Serbian/Montenegrin (JNA) Army under Mladic’s control of course was not withdrawn, placed under Government BiH authority or international authority. Rather, it was renamed the Army of Republika Srpska and legitimized the notion of a civil war and an ethnic definition and presumably resolution to the war and killing.



Goal of Ethnic Delineation from Outset

The UN and its member states were well aware of the aims of foreign invasion because Resolution 752 also called for stop to “any attempts to change the ethnic composition of the population” of areas that were coming under attack. Kept secret by certain UN/international officials at that critical time, the UN and its most powerful states had already started to receive reports from UNPROFOR personnel on the ground of killings and concentration camps – (we were able to receive copies of such reports through backdoor channels by August 1992.)



Ratko Mladic – Face of Crimes Perpetrated Upon BiH & Citizens

The above facts are obviously not new. The face of the aggression and genocide in BiH has been veiled in obfuscating language meant to confuse and diffuse the responsibility. That face, more than any other, of the killing and ethnic cleansing is of Ratko Mladic. Labeling him the “Bosnian Serb commander” maintains the veil and perpetuates the charade.



In 2009 I testified before the ICTY (“Yugoslav War Crimes Tribunal”) as prosecution witness in the trial of Belgrade’s (Serbia & Montenegro or JNA) military chief of staff, 1993-1998, General Momcilo Perisic. The charges, evidence and testimony alleged and showed Belgrade’s direct involvement and command and control over Mladic’s so called Bosnian Serb Army. (The trial is now complete and awaiting verdict, and until such time some evidence and testimony remains confidential by conditions imposed by the Court.)



If confirmed by the verdict upon General Perisic, this will be another further proof that General Mladic was Belgrade’s commander in BiH (as well as Croatia) rather than the “Bosnian Serb” military chief. It will have impact on:

· Belgrade’s perceived accountability for the war and crimes in BiH,

· Possible re-engagement of BiH’s case before the International Court of Justice,

· Responsibility of the big powers in overlooking/acquiescing to Belgrade’s aggression/ethnic cleansing strategy in BiH,

· Efforts to paint conflict more as “civil war,” rather than as international conflict, and

· Current efforts to affirm and legitimize a Republika Srpska not only designed by ethnic cleansing but by Belgrade under Slobodan Milosevic’s regime then and now…?


One way that Ratko Mladic can be labeled as the “Bosnian Serb” commander – he was born within the borders of BiH in a small village. However, it is then as noteworthy that Radovan Karadzic, presumably the “Bosnian Serb” political chief, was born in Montenegro. Many even in Serbia’s current leadership were born outside of Serbia, including Ambassador Feodor Starcevic its Permanent Representative to the UN, who was born in Sarajevo. Many BiH officials were born outside of BiH, including Ejup Ganic, BiH war-time Presidency member, born in the Sandzak region of Serbia. The unfortunate reality of the former Yugoslavia’s disintegration is that many were left with fragmented identities. However, the reality of one’s role in the wars is not defined by glib or convenient labels but by whose bidding one did – Ratko Mladic was under the command and pay of Belgrade. Ratko Mladic - the Serbian military commander in BiH.


FILM REPORT - "Ratko Mladic Delivered to Court" - diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/movie/mladic-delivered-to-court/27203


By Ambassador Muhamed Sacirbey

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