GUSKOVA: THE WORLD SHOULD HEAR ABOUT GENERAL MLADIĆ'S COURAGE, PROFESSIONALISM AND HONOR

BELGRADE, AUGUST 29 /SRNA/ — General Ratko Mladić was known as a great military commander, a top professional and an honorable officer who fought for his homeland, Russian and Serbian academic Jelena Guskova, who has written two books about the General, said in a statement to SRNA.

She stressed that the world should be told about General Mladić’s integrity, courage, incorruptibility, sense of justice, military skill, outstanding professionalism, kindness and humanity, as well as his fatherly attitude toward ordinary soldiers.

"Ratko Mladić was a legendary Serbian warrior, our contemporary, a colonel general. It is easy to speak about him, but very difficult to think about the fact that he is no longer among us," Guskova noted.

She said she was certain that General Mladić would be discussed for centuries, that his deeds and actions would be studied in schools and universities, and that Serbs and Russians would pray to him in Orthodox churches and monasteries.

According to her, General Mladić was a Serb who never betrayed the ideals of Serbdom and who would remain forever in the memory of his people.

"Western politicians, journalists and military personnel often asked me who he was. One could answer that he was a simple but exceptionally talented man who loved his homeland and people, was incorruptible, just, brave and convinced of the righteousness of his cause," Guskova said.

She noted that both politicians and journalists sought meetings with Mladić, while NATO personnel considered it an honor to see with their own eyes the legendary figure whom soldiers revered.

"His soldiers trusted him and followed him into battle without hesitation, as one follows every true leader. For Serbs, he was and remains a great strategist and the architect of all Serb victories in BiH," Guskova said.

She pointed out that people tell legends about him and sing songs about him, adding that the effectiveness of the army he built from ordinary people impressed both UNPROFOR General Lewis MacKenzie and British politician Paddy Ashdown.

She noted that the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph included Mladić on a list of the 30 most famous contemporary military commanders, reminding that officers who negotiated with him regarded him as a tactical genius, but also as a fanatic because he never deviated from his motto: "dignity, honor, faith and freedom."

Guskova, who has published two books about General Mladić, said she met with him many times while he was detained in The Hague, recording his recollections and trying not to miss a single word.

"Fortunate are those who knew Ratko Mladić personally, spoke with him, learned from him and served under his command. Eternal glory to the hero Ratko Mladić! May his memory be eternal," Guskova said, noting that she was also connected to the General through a godparent relationship.

Former Commander of the Main Staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, General Ratko Mladić, died on Thursday, August 27, at a detention hospital in The Hague at the age of 83.