Four people who came through the Bosnian war speak about Mladic's first day at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague
Suada Kapic, survivor of the siege of Sarajevo
Suada Kapic lived in Grbavica, the first area of Sarajevo to be taken over by Bosnian Serb forces, and was able to escape with her sister to the centre of Sarajevo, where she lived throughout the siege. She has been responsible for collecting a history of the siege.
"I stayed in Sarajevo during the siege for four years. During that time, my father fell ill and could not get the medical attention he required and died. He fell into a coma during the occupation and the doctor could not reach us. Initially, we had a different experience to others in Sarajevo. We knew how brutal it was going to be because our area was occupied first. When we escaped over the bridge into the central area of Sarajevo it was still calm and people did not know what to expect.
"For us, it is important for young people to know that you cannot commit war crimes and not be punished.
"Watching his court appearance, the most important thing for me was hearing his name read out in a list with all the others who were responsible for what happened: Karadzic, Arkan, Milosevic and Vojislav Seselj, and all those others. I was very glad to hear that. For me, in many ways, that is enough ahead of a long trial.
"I thought for the first 10 minutes that he seemed confused. Then as the hearing went on I recognised the old brutal Mladic. It was as if he had decided in his mind where he was and how he was going to react.
"I think I finally recognised him when he gave the little laugh when they were reading out the indictment relating to Srebrenica.
"We can't know what is in his mind but it was like he decided at that moment. He accused his lawyer. He said: 'Who's he?' He wanted a team of real lawyers. I tried to see the signs. For me he seemed totally isolated. He realised where he was and what he had to do, which was to defend history in his mind. For me, it was simply good enough just to see him at last."
Alma Masic, Bosnian aid worker during the war
Alma Masic was working for an international aid organisation throughout the war in Bosnia, and visited almost every front of the conflict. She was in Srebrenica the day that Mladic was arrested, working with families of the victims.
"I was working with the International Rescue Committee and was based in Zenica. It was a unique experience as I had the opportunity to travel everywhere except Bihac and saw how the war was impacting on everybody. I visited nearly all of the front lines.
"I though Ratko Mladic's interpretation of the indictment was just scandalous. He was being accused of serious accusations in a court of law, and his response was 'this is all just people denouncing me' and rubbish. It was so disrespectful. I was in Srebrenica the day he was arrested – everyone was glued to their radios waiting for President Boris Tadic's press conference to hear what he would say about the arrest.
"I noticed his little laugh when he was listening to the details about Srebrenica. I think this is going to set a special tone to the trial.
"I think this one will be especially painful to watch. His disrespect is clear, and his denial in his demand to be treated as if he was a VIP, for God's sake. He is 'The General Ratko Mladic'. It is going to be more painful because he cannot sustain not being the military person, and that will bring more pain to his victims.
"It's like he has this identity that has been so heavily built up by the [Serbian] media of being treated like a hero who everyone expects to behave like this. He is saying, from a military man's perspective: 'I defended my people and my country', which will make the whole issue more difficult to deliberate and to debate. I mean, how are you going to break this denial that everything he did was 'innocent'?
Satko Mujagic, Omarska prisoner
At the age of 20, Satko Mujagic, who now works for the Dutch government, was held prisoner in the notorious Omarska concentration camp.
"I lived in the town of Kozarec. It was overrun 12 days after it was attacked by heavy weapons. I was 20 at the time, and I had just finished at high school. I was a civilian but I spent 200 days in the camps including a military one.
"The person I was more happy to see arrested was Radovan Karadzic. I was really excited because he was the brains behind what happened. I made a kind of jump when Mladic was arrested.
"[At a meeting] in Banja Luka when Karadzic presented his six-point plan, Mladic took the floor. He said: 'You realise that this would be regarded by the international community as genocide.' He wasn't saying: 'I don't want to do this.' He was saying: 'Look. Just so you know.' That's the crucial thing for me. He knew three years before Srebrenica. He knew what he was doing.
"The first reaction I felt was pity. It sounds funny but he sounds like a really old man, and I almost felt pity for him. And I felt pity for all of us as well [who survived].
"I wonder whether he will live long enough to get through to the end of the trial. His speech was very slow and difficult. Maybe he can live 10 more years, but I'm afraid that he might die soon. There was arrogance, and when the judge asked him whether he understood the languages, he was careful to say he understood Serbian, his "mother tongue", and Macedonian. He was making the point that, although Bosnian and Croatian are virtually identical, he understood the 'orthodox' languages.
"I'm glad that the judge read out eight municipalities as well as Srebrenica where he is accused of genocide. He mentioned Prijedor, where I was born. The whole world knows about Srebrenica, but it is important for people to know that it happened in other places too."
Nihad Kresevljakovic, survivor of the siege of Sarajevo
Nihad Kresevljakovic lived through the siege of Sarajevo, during which 10,000 residents were killed during a campaign of often indiscriminate shelling and sniping. He is now executive producer of Sarajevo's MESS international theatre festival.
"There's no doubt that this is a moment of huge significance, but I don't feel euphoric about it. I mean, the experience of living through the siege – being shelled by Serb cannons, being without communications or electricity – felt like a fight for existence.
"People were being killed in the streets, and after the command of the Bosnian Serb forces was given to Mladic, it became more aggressive. It's too late for euphoria. Too many things have happened. When Karadzic was arrested, there were people on the street. For me, as someone who spent time in Sarajevo during the siege, it was not just the shells from his forces being fired at the city, it was Mladic's statements on television that I remember as well. He was a crazy man.
"What bothers me is the number of supporters that he has in the other entity [Republika Srpska]. There is a new generation that has grown up that treats Mladic as a hero. He is talked about in the media there as a good soldier, but he was not. He had no ethics. He was a criminal.
"I think it was very important that he was there in court, but it's not surprising that – like Milosevic and Karadzic – he would recognise the crimes that he committed. It is important too for demystifying this war criminal for those Serbs who still support him, that here is an old guy who needs two months to read through the three folders of his indictment.
"I looked at him and it reminded me that he was a military officer of a specific kind. I remember one of the worst memories from the war was listening to his arrogant statements and his lies. Mladic saying we are not shelling Sarajevo when we were being shelled as he was speaking. So I'm not surprised that he has not changed. "And while I feel that The Hague is an important institution, I do worry that it gives huge media space to the bullshit and paranoia of those like Mladic."