Talk:Ratko Mladić

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I object to Mladic's daughter's suicide being used for cheap political points. There is no evidence that she committed suicide because of 'disgust at the way her father was leading the war'. This interpretation, popular with western media at the time, was meant to paint a picture how his own daughter could not live with the burden of having a father like Mladic. As no suicide note was left, that we know of, we can only speculate as to the true motives. At the time of her suicide there was intense media criticism in Belgrade (where his daughter was studying) of general Mladic and the Bosnian Serb leadership, for failing to endorse peace proposals. It is possible that this public criticism was too much to bear for a 23-year-old. I repeat, we do not know the true reasons for the suicide, and we should not try to second-guess them. She is dead, and let her rest in peace. I have ammended the article accordingly, and I hope it is satisfactory.

The contradictory informations about the reasons for the suicide of Mladic's daugther is in itself an interesting piece of information (by the way, what was her name ?). I have found very few informations about the young girl herself, only things in respect to her father; it would be interesting to find more (beginning with her first name !), particularly about her political beliefs. The difficulties created by the absence of a suicide note could then be overcome. By the way, excuse me, but as I understand them, your proposal for alternative reasons for the suicide seem quite close to a political protest against Ratko Mladic.

I would advise that a clear mention of the political theory of this suicide be mentionned here; since it is quite widely known, neglecting this could appear as a defense of Ratko Mladic, which would weaken the article. Thus, if contradicting theories have to be mentionned, they should be with references. I have put a reference to an article which states the "political suicide" theory, it should remain along with references of the contradicting opinion. What would you think of something like this :

In 1994, his daughter committed suicide; it is widely believed that the act was done in disgust or in protest at the way her father was leading the war ([1], [2]). However, no suicide note was found, and some people in Serbia believe that the suicide might not have been politically loaded. She rests in Topcider; it is believed that for some time Mladic came regularly to see the grave.

Of course, I'd like to put a link to an example immidiately after "some people in Serbia believe that the suicide might not have been politically loaded". Rama 21:40, 12 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Her name was Ana.

I do not believe this article should be in defense (or in attack) of Mladic but should be as factual as possible. This is especially true for someone who is so controvercial even today. In this respect I am not even too happy with the version I posted. But at least that version combines two coincident facts: (a) her suicide, and (b) sudden media campaign against her father in her country. The linking of the two is quite speculative though (altough it is the theory I have come across most often), as is the linking of the way her father conducted the war to her suicide.

I have a real problem with the two weblinks you suggest. These are not 'sources' as such, but speculative reports from the past, and I do not believe they reflect any 'widely' held belief.

A quick search for Ana Mladic on google gives a number of results in Serbian. None of them give any hint as to disgust at the way the war was fought. One particular article by a family friend paints a picture of an extremely close father-daughter relationship. Apparently Ana was one of the best students in her year, and Mladic was extremely proud of this. Close to her suicide she complained of strong headaches, if this means anything. She also asked to go back to Bosnia with her father, but Mladic did not allow this.

If there is anything interesting about this story it is that a man like Mladic, however brutal he is, has capacity to show great care for his close family. If this indeed was the case then it certainly plays to the theory that she was brought to suicide by the intensive adverse media campaign surrounding her father. This is why I think there should be no reference to his daughter's disgust.

Contents 1 Military promotions 2 Mladić, caught in Romania? 3 interpretation of ethnic cleansing against serbs 4 VERY VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT 5 Mladic quote 6 Coverage of 1995 Croatian Offensive

[edit] Military promotions

The article says that Mladic was promoted to General Major in 1991, and to General Lieutenant in 1992. Since the latter is actually a lower rank, this doesn't make sense. Could someone check the facts? GregorB 21:07, Jun 3, 2005 (UTC)

I figure it wasn't a lower rank in the Yugoslav People's Army. The Croatian page on JNA confirms my suspicion, general-pukovnik is higher than general-major. --Joy [shallot]

It might be a good idea to use the Serbo-croat term, possibly putting a rough English equivalent in parenthesis beside for clarity... Rama 16:49, 13 December 2005 (UTC)

It seems reasonable to suppose that "General Major" and "General Lieutenant" correspond to US/UK Major General and Lieutenant General. The latter is indeed one rank higher than the former. GdB 01:15, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

Mladić was promoted to "general-major" (translates to major general) in October 1991 and to "general-potpukovnik" (translates to liuetenant colonel general) in April 1992.

[edit] Mladić, caught in Romania?

According to Evenimentul Zilei, some "anonymous" governmental source said that Mladić was caught near Drobeta-Turnu Severin by some joint Romanian-British operation. (Mladici, prins in Romania?)

Should we add this or wait for the official confirmation? bogdan 22:28, 22 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] interpretation of ethnic cleansing against serbs

"The city was bombarded with shells, snipers randomly killed civilians, and ethnic cleansing campaigns against Serbs as well as non-Serbs were conducted"

How should I interpret this? Did Mladic's troops also conduct ethnic cleansing campaigns against serbs ( his own people?) or do you mean that other parties did the same thing to them?

Evilbu 11:11, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

That should probably be clarified. There were BiH Army factions that killed and expelled Serb civilians in some areas, though not on the same scale as what non-Serbs suffered. Mladić had more to do General Stanislav Galić's campaign of constant shelling and sniping of civilians than the looting and other close-quarters criminal activity, which were conducted by paramilitary units, primarily Arkans Tigers and Šešelj's White Eagles (http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/comexpert/III-A.htm#IV.A.35). Timmay 17:34, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Well by all means, please edit that part. That would be very interesting. Evilbu 18:31, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I'm actually wondering why that is even mentioned here, as a cursory mention of the siege is warranted, but details of that which was not perpetrated by Mladić does not bear mention in this entry, but would have a place in the Sarajevo Siege entry. I'll look at it and see if there could be better phrasing. Timmay 21:29, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] VERY VERY VERY VERY IMPORTANT

SOMEONE PUT THIS PICTURE IN THIS ARTICLE,ITS FROM SERBIAN WIKIPEDIA

http://sr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0:Mladic_i_Clark.jpg

IF YOU DONT RECOGNIZE THE OTHER MAN,IT IS FAMOUS AMERICAN GENERAL AND CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT,ALSO COMANDING NATO AT THE TIME.THAT WHY THIS PICTURE SHOULD BE HERE IN ANY CASEDzoni 05:49, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mladic quote

Add this "evo nas, 11 jula, 1995 godine, u srpskoj srebrenici, u oci jos jednoga velikoga praznika srpskoga, poklanjamo srpskoga narodu ovaj grad, i napokon dosao je trenutak da se posle bune protiv dahija, turcima osvetimo na ovom prostoru"

"Here we are, on 11th July, 1995 year, in Serbian Srebrenica, just before a great Serb Holy day.(petrovden). We give this town to the Serb Nation. Remembering the uprising against the Turks, the time has come to take revenge on the Turks"

God bless him

Thats right,may God bless him,the Greatest Serbian Hero of 20 century.Ratko,hvala ti za sve

Ice Cold 02:02, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

I just want to add another quote,to demonstrate how peacefull Djeneral Ratko really was,and how he tryed to prevent the war:

"If humankind were to follow my advice and if it were in my power, I wouldn't allow the word 'war' to be uttered in any language, I would ban all weapons, even in the form of toys." From interview with Robert Block, 1995

Ice Cold 02:07, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

Citation above is a very fine example of dirty lie and manipulation, so common in serbian politicians. And tis is the man whom Serbs see as a hero. Nice. --83.131.150.49 11:10, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

I dont see what is so dirty in ones opinion that there should be no wars and weapons,General Mladic was a pacifist and thats a very rare thing for a politician,so it shows you why Serbs respect him so much,because he always tryed to do his best to stop the war.

What is dirty is American foreign policy.I can also find a quote from General Wesley Clark(who later was candidate for USA president)in witch he called General Mladic "an honorable man".It was in 1994.Only couple of years later America changed its policy and now they say General Mladic is a war criminal,just because he defended his nation. Ice Cold 12:42, 12 July 2006 (UTC)

CAN SOMEONE ADD THIS VIDEO http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8545884329966500873 thanx

[edit] Coverage of 1995 Croatian Offensive

Today i eliminated language from the section of this article that referred to the Croation offensive against the Krajina in 1995. As it stood, the section ran along the lines of "a massive Croation force poised to cleanse the Serb Krajina (just has had the Ustashe in WWII). In an edit summary when this information was inserted, the editor (who lacks a wikipedia account) said that they were inserting undeniable information. While the fact that the Croatian state run by Pavelic did occupy the Krajina is undeniable, the fact that the 'cleansed' it is. Furthermore, it would seem illogical that an area cleansed of Serbs would remain a centre of Serb population into the 1990's. Additionally, the statement that Croatian forces both intended to and accomplished their goal of cleansing the Krajina of Serbs needs support from an outside source. As to the ongoing debate over whether Mladic is a hero of the Serbian people, i think it could be effectively summarized with the old addage that one mans hero is another mans terrorist. As to the statement that in two years the US 'decided' that Mladic was a war criminal, it's important to consider a couple things. First of all, when Clarke said he was an honorable man, there were ongoing negotitions to which Mladic (and his goodwill) were key. This was not true two years later. Secondly, the period between 1994 and 1996 includes the month of July 1995, when forces under Mladics command overran the Srebrenica enclave and massacred in the range of 7000 men and boys. Please don't do yourself the disservice of denying what happened at Srebrenica.