Mandic Faces Criminal Complaint Over Tribute to Mladic

Republika Srpska Vice President Camil Durakovic has filed a criminal complaint with Montenegro’s Higher State Prosecutor’s Office against Andrija Mandic, president of the Montenegrin Parliament, over his public tribute to General Ratko Mladic. For Belgrade, this is not simply a regional footnote: how neighboring capitals treat the legacy of the Srebrenica genocide conviction feeds directly into Serbia’s own narrative on reckoning with the past, a benchmark Brussels has used for years to measure the entire region’s path toward the European Union, Serbia included.

Mladic died on August 27 in a detention hospital in The Hague, at age 84. Mandic quickly offered condolences to Darko Mladic, the late general’s son, both on behalf of his party, New Serb Democracy, and in his own name, a gesture that triggered sharp reactions in Podgorica and across the region. Srpske Novine has already reported that the move drew a response from Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic.

Complaint and calls for removal

In a statement accompanying the criminal complaint, Durakovic said the Montenegrin official’s conduct went far beyond a political statement.

Publicly paying tribute to Ratko Mladic, who was convicted with final effect of genocide in Srebrenica and other of the gravest war crimes, represents a grave insult to the dignity of the victims, their families and all citizens who believe in truth, justice and European values.

That is how Durakovic explained the complaint, adding that “such conduct is neither a private matter nor an isolated political provocation.” The same statement carried a demand that goes further than the prosecutor’s office, reaching the office of the parliament speaker himself.

I think it would be a healthy moment for Montenegro to raise the question of urgently removing Andrija Mandic from his position.

Durakovic also praised Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajic and President Jakov Milatovic for distancing themselves from the glorification of war crimes, calling their reactions an important confirmation of the values Montenegro, in his words, must insist on.

Urgent request to the OSCE Mission

Alongside the criminal complaint, Durakovic sent an urgent request to the Mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He asked whether the Mission would monitor how the relevant prosecutor’s offices handle complaints over the glorification of Mladic and the denial of war crimes, including decisions not to launch investigations, and whether it would regularly report its findings to the public.

It is particularly important to establish whether the competent prosecutor’s offices act on their own initiative when publicly available information points to the possible commission of a criminal offense.

With those words, Durakovic addressed his urgent request to the OSCE Mission, asking for a response at the earliest possible opportunity.

Zagreb warns Podgorica

The reaction did not come from Banja Luka alone. Croatian Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic condemned Mandic’s condolence message on August 28, and Croatia’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, led by Gordan Grlic Radman, delivered the same message. Zagreb said it will keep insisting on the consistent fulfillment of all criteria in Montenegro’s negotiations with the European Union, including reckoning with the past, prosecuting war crimes, respecting international court rulings and maintaining good neighborly relations.

For Belgrade, the message from Zagreb and Podgorica cuts both ways. Croatia, an EU member state that already has a say in the enlargement process, is showing that the legacy of war crimes remains a yardstick for every country in the region, not just Serbia, while in Montenegro the question is now whether political accountability for Mandic’s gesture will arrive before Podgorica’s Higher State Prosecutor’s Office rules on Durakovic’s complaint.