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| Europe |
| Dutch blamed for deaths in Srebrenica massacre |
| 2011-07-06 |
| Dutch UN peacekeepers have been found legally responsible for the deaths of three Bosnian Muslim men in the Srebrenica massacre. Judges in the Netherlands ordered the government to compensate the men's relatives, which could open the way to other claims by relatives. It could also have repurcussions for countries sending troops on UN peacekeeping missions, as it sets a precedent for national governments being taken to court for the actions of their troops even when under UN control. The ruling said even though the Dutch soldiers were acting under a UN mandate, they were under the "effective control" of top Dutch officials in The Hague when they ordered hundreds of Muslim men and boys out of their compound. The ruling said the three men were among the last to be expelled and by that time the "Dutchbat" peacekeepers already had seen abuses and should have known they faced a serious threat of being killed. "Dutchbat should not have turned these men over to the Serbs," a summary of the judgment said. The Hague Appeals Court has not yet set a compensation figure. Victims' lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld said the sum would "not be in the millions." |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #6 Just think what everlasting glory the Dutch would have covered themselves in if they had refused and fought. But no, military heroes are forbidden in Europe. The deal with Stalin was a deal with the devil, to be sure. The Dutch were not in a similar situation of needing something from the Serbs. |
| Posted by: gromky 2011-07-06 11:03 |
| #5 For some reason I thought a massacre meant more than three dead. |
| Posted by: Rjschwarz 2011-07-06 09:08 |
| #4 ..not much different than the forced repatriation of Russian POWs back to Stalin after WWII. Similar fates. Just like the Dutch soldiers, ours just followed the orders of their political authorities. At least Stalin was nice enough to wait till he got them beyond the border and out side the view of the West before dealing with them. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-07-06 09:05 |
| #3 Judges got it exactly right. The Serbs murdered the men. The Dutch gave way and let it happen. All it took was for good soldiers to stand their ground and the massacre doesn't happen. The Dutch didn't. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2011-07-06 08:18 |
| #2 Who told you they don't, Skidmark? Doesn't mean they'll pass a chance at some jazia, does it? |
| Posted by: gr(o)mgoru 2011-07-06 05:01 |
| #1 Ummm...why not blame the Serbs? |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2011-07-06 02:22 |