Verbal incident in front of Mladic mural

N1

Another verbal incident happened in front of the mural of convicted war criminal Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic on Friday.

Simo Spasic, a man known for his aggressive pro-regime public activities, joined the young men guarding the mural and engaged in a heated exchange with local residents who told him to leave and stop harassing them. A police patrol checked the IDs of the local people before approaching Spasic. Simo Spasic served prison time on a rape conviction several years ago and claims that he was framed by the authorities before the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) came to power. He is believed to enjoy the protection of the regime.

An N1 reporter said that the police kept out of sight before the incident. The young men guarding the mural walked away when they saw the N1 crew, avoiding the camera. Local residents told N1 that the events around the mural are disruptive in the neighborhood.

Several organizations have been calling for a gathering on Saturday to protest the mural. The Women in Black NGO said that it had requested permission to paint over the mural.

The Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) called for the removal of the mural last week but the police banned the planned gathering. Human rights activist and former MP Aida Corovic was arrested several days later after throwing eggs at the mural, causing a protest that evening with police cordons denying access to the mural and separating the protesters from a group of pro-Mladic hooligans.