Banja Luka Mayor refuses to remove Ratko Mladic mural

The case was reported to the municipal department of the Banja Luka City Administration, but, according to the public kitchen, officials told them to “paint over the mural themselves.”

“Mozaik prijateljstva” is located in a municipal building in the Mejdan neighborhood of Banja Luka.

The Association of Victims and Witnesses of Genocide called on the High Representative to use the powers at their disposal.

“Placing a mural on a Banja Luka city building is just one in a series of actions indicating a troubling pattern by the current RS authorities and potentially signaling attempts to revive scenarios from the 1990s,” the association said.

Journalists asked Stanivukovic after a PDP party leadership session whether he would remove the mural. He replied, “We will not remove it.” He also shared this statement on X, which provoked strong reactions.

Lawyer and BOSS party president Mirnes Ajanovic stated that Stanivuković has committed a criminal offense and that the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina must act.

“By doing this, Drasko Stanivukovic, as a public official, has committed a criminal offense under Article 145a, paragraph (1) and especially paragraph (6) of the Criminal Code of BiH, since this involves glorifying a person legally convicted of genocide and war crimes, which is punishable by at least three years in prison” Ajanovic said.

He added that the mural “further traumatizes victims of war crimes and their families, insults returnees, and offends all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Ajanovic announced that if the Prosecutor’s Office does not act, he will file an official criminal complaint against Stanivukovic for the indisputable elements of the crime.

“No one in Bosnia and Herzegovina, not even the mayor of Banja Luka, is above the law or allowed to glorify convicted war criminals,” Ajanovic emphasized.