“This time the Dutch stood their ground,” Mishetiq quips after Mladić chants

Luka Mishetiq, the lawyer of Hashim Thaçi, reacted after the match between Serbia and the Netherlands, during which chants honoring Ratko Mladić were heard from the stands of the stadium in Belgrade.

In a post on the X platform, Mishetiq referenced the Netherlands’ 2-1 victory over Serbia, drawing a parallel with the events of 1995 in Srebrenica.

“In yesterday’s Netherlands–Serbia match in Belgrade, Serbian fans chanted the name of the convicted war criminal and convicted genocidaire Ratko Mladić, expecting the Dutch to surrender as in Srebrenica in 1995. This time, the Dutch stood their ground and won 2-1,” Mishetiq wrote, ironically referencing the role of Dutch UN peacekeepers in Srebrenica.

During the Serbia–Netherlands match at the “Rajko Mitić” stadium in Belgrade, chants in support of Mladić were heard from part of the stands, while regional media also reported a banner dedicated to the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska. The Netherlands won the match 2-1.

Ratko Mladić has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the genocide in Srebrenica, crimes against humanity and other crimes committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces under Mladić’s command took Srebrenica, which had been declared a UN “safe area.” More than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys were killed in the days that followed.

At the time, the Dutch UN battalion Dutchbat was deployed in the area but failed to prevent the fall of the enclave and the massacre that followed.

International court documents and proceedings have extensively addressed the role and limitations of the Dutch peacekeeping forces during the fall of Srebrenica.

Mishetiq’s reaction comes as chants and messages in support of Mladić in Serbian stadiums have prompted reactions abroad as well, as Telegrafi reports.