LINTA: GENERAL MLADIĆ IS A SYMBOL OF THE STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM AND SURVIVAL OF THE SERB PEOPLE

BELGRADE, AUGUST 28 /SRNA/ - The President of the Union of Serbs from the Region, Miodrag Linta, stated that General Ratko Mladić was and remains a symbol of military determination, perseverance, and the fight for the freedom and survival of the Serb people.

Linta expressed his condolences to General Mladić's family, his comrades-in-arms, and all who respected him, stating that his name will remain written in the history of the Serb people as that of a legendary commander of the glorious Army of Republika Srpska. He noted that General Mladić's health condition had been extremely severe for years following multiple strokes and serious heart and kidney issues, and that his defense team, family, and doctors had consistently pointed out for years that he was not receiving adequate treatment or proper medical care. "It is particularly painful that the defense, the family, the institutions of our state, and many individuals repeatedly appealed and demanded that the General be allowed to undergo medical treatment in Serbia. Those requests were not accepted by the Hague Mechanism. The rejection of these appeals and demands represents a deeply unfair, inhumane, and unfeeling attitude toward a man whose health had been severely compromised for years," Linta said. He emphasized that additional bitterness is left by the fact that General Mladić was convicted before the Hague Tribunal, which the Serb people rightly view as anti-Serb and biased. Linta stated that the trial of General Mladić became a symbol of deep injustice and the court's selective approach toward Serb defendants, according to a press release from the Union of Serbs from the Region. The wartime commander of the Main Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, General Ratko Mladić, passed away yesterday in the detention hospital in The Hague at the age of 83. General Mladić had been in the detention hospital in The Hague since 2024, where he spent the last year and a half bedridden, while the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals turned a deaf ear to requests for his release to Serbia for medical treatment on humanitarian grounds. The Mechanism announced that President Graciela Gatti Santana "ordered an investigation into the death of General Mladić in the detention hospital in The Hague".