(ANSAmed) – BELGRADE, NOVEMBER 10 – In Belgrade, a large mural praising former Bosnian Serb general Ratko Mladic, sentenced to life in prison for war crimes and the Srebrenica genocide in 1995, was vandalized today by a political activist who threw white paint at the effigy of Mladic, whom many in Serbia consider a hero and defender of the Serbian people.
“It was a civil duty to destroy the mural dedicated to Ratko Mladic, which throws mud on all citizens,” said Djordjo Zujovic, the author of the gesture, quoted by local media. The mural, in the center of the Serbian capital, was at the center of a controversy that saw supporters and opponents of the former Bosnian Serb general oppose last night.
Despite the police ban on opposing rallies, groups of human rights activists intent on removing the mural gathered last night in support of the arrest of an activist who had thrown eggs at Mladic’s effigy. The woman was soon released by the police. A short distance away – and held at bay by a massive array of agents – ultranationalists and supporters of the former general shouted Mladic’s name. There were opposing chants and mutual verbal offenses between the two sides, but the police avoided physical confrontation between the two sides.
The Interior Ministry rejected the accusations of intervening to defend the mural, stating that the agents were deployed on the spot only to ensure the safety of citizens by avoiding clashes and accidents. Praise to the police also came today from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who however indirectly criticized the initiative of activists of a human rights organization to remove the Mladic mural. There is always a tendency to put Serbia in a bad light and go back to the past, instead of talking about the positive things that Serbia has today, Vucic said.
(ANSAmed).
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Source From: Ansa
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