Dutchbat
Encyclopedia
DUTCHBAT nominally was a Dutch
battalion
under command of the United Nations
in operation United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR)
. It was hastily formed out of the emerging first ever Air Mobile Brigade of the Royal Netherlands Armed Forces between February, 1994 and November, 1995 to participate in the peacekeeping operation in former Yugoslavia. To it fell the role of safekeeping the Muslim
enclave of Srebrenica
during the Yugoslav wars
(1992–1995). In its third replacement, "Dutchbat III," commanded by lieutenant colonel Thomas Karremans, the enclave fell to the Bosnian Serbs under colonel general Ratko Mladic
, His troops included the Scorpions group
. Thousands of men and children were transported to places nearby; CIA U-2
spy planes followed the operation and took pictures of mass graves being dug: the end of the road for these people. The pictures were only made public much later. Many other Bosniaks tried to flee alone and in large groups and were killed in the woods.
, 5 km from Srebrenica, and used 30 observation posts (OPs) throughout the perimeter of the enclave, mostly consisting of a sandbagged armored car and associated personnel and equipment.
UNPROFOR's mission was the protection of the civilian populace, of this Bosnian enclave (dubbed a "secure area" or "safe haven" by the UN) amongst many other places in former Yugoslavia. and its Rules of Engagement (ROE) allowed only to use force in acts of self-defense, counting on air support from NATO to guarantee the mission. Intervening in the fighting was strictly forbidden to all NATO troops, often to their great frustration.
DUTCHBAT's zone fell under siege by the VRS
, the Army of the Republika Srpska
when NATO air forces started an all-out attack on the Bosnian Serbs besieging Sarajevo
, isolating the Dutch battalion, causing serious deficiencies in provisions. One Dutch soldier died March 9 by mortar
fire by VRS. When VRS artillery squashed the resistance of the 28ª Mountain Infantry Division, ARBiH, defending the town, Lieutenant-Colonel (Lt. Col., "Overste") Karremans made an urgent request for air support from the United Nations for two Dutch F-16s to attack heavy armour of the VRS. The attack never took place. It had to be cancelled when Serbian forces threatened the execution of 50 members of Dutchbat III seized as hostages. Mladić's column then took the town July 11, 1995, causing the displacement of many of the city's inhabitants. About 15,000 displaced persons undertook the flight towards Tuzla
on foot, but the majority looked for protection from the UN blue helmets in Potocari. During the flight of the column towards Tuzla, Dutch soldier Raviv van Rensen was attacked by the Bosnian Serbs and died.
Mladić met with Lt. Col. Karremans (video of the meeting is available on Youtube), and by serious threats made sure DUTCHBAT did not take part in the outcome. Under pretext of evacuating the Bosniak population to a sheltered city, most of the women and children were transferred by bus to a zone under Bosnian-Serb control, assuring that the men would be transferred later. But the Bosnian Serbs perpetrated a genocide
on the males, the now well-known massacre of Srebrenica, in which approximately 8,000 Bosniak men of different ages were murdered by the military and paramilitary
Bosnian-Serbian forces. On the 21st of July, with the entire zone already under control of the VRS, the Dutch battalion left the enclave. Its leave and Mladić's effusive goodbyes and gifts, filmed by Mladić's own propaganda teams, were picked up by TV stations worldwide.
From July till November 2005 Dutchbat IV served and mainly dealt with refugees at Simin Han, near Tuzla
.
. An official investigation of the incident on the part of the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (Nederlands Instituut voor oorlogsdocumentatie, NIOD] lasting seven years, published April 10, 2002, made the Prime Minister
Wim Kok
resign within six days. The 3,400-page report criticized the political and military High Commands of the Netherlands as being guilty of criminal negligence
, for not preventing the massacre. The conclusions were devastating:
On December 4, 2006, Minister of Defence Henk Kamp
gave a decoration to the soldiers of Dutchbat III, draaginsigne DBIII. This award was severely criticized by the public as well as by some survivors and relatives of Srebrenica victims.
In June 2007 an association of relatives of the victims of the massacre presented a denunciation in The Hague
against the Government of the Netherlands and the UN for its negligence in the massacre.
In October of the same year, twelve former members of DUTCHBAT III visited the Memorial for the Srebrenica massacre, paying tribute to the victims. The same group of relatives opposed their act of atonement to open dialogue.
According to testimonies of 171 of the members of the battalion, 65% left the Army, 40% of these requested psychological treatment, and 10% show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
(official figure; health professionals treating these people deem the number much higher).
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
under command of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
in operation United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR)
United Nations Protection Force
The United Nations Protection Force ', was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav wars. It existed between the beginning of UN involvement in February 1992, and its restructuring into other forces in March 1995...
. It was hastily formed out of the emerging first ever Air Mobile Brigade of the Royal Netherlands Armed Forces between February, 1994 and November, 1995 to participate in the peacekeeping operation in former Yugoslavia. To it fell the role of safekeeping the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
enclave of Srebrenica
Srebrenica
Srebrenica is a town and municipality in the east of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosnian Serb entity of Republika Srpska. Srebrenica is a small mountain town, its main industry being salt mining and a nearby spa. During the Bosnian War, the town was the site of the July 1995 massacre,...
during the Yugoslav wars
Yugoslav wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of wars, fought throughout the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. The wars were complex: characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts among the peoples of the former Yugoslavia, mostly between Serbs on the one side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other; but also...
(1992–1995). In its third replacement, "Dutchbat III," commanded by lieutenant colonel Thomas Karremans, the enclave fell to the Bosnian Serbs under colonel general Ratko Mladic
Ratko Mladić
Ratko Mladić is an accused war criminal and a former Bosnian Serb military leader. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
, His troops included the Scorpions group
Scorpions (paramilitary)
The Scorpions were a Serbian paramilitary group which actively sought out the extermination of other ethnicities in the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo. The unit was formed in 1991 in what was then the breakaway Republic of Serbian Krajina...
. Thousands of men and children were transported to places nearby; CIA U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency . It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather intelligence gathering...
spy planes followed the operation and took pictures of mass graves being dug: the end of the road for these people. The pictures were only made public much later. Many other Bosniaks tried to flee alone and in large groups and were killed in the woods.
Operation
DUTCHBAT, in spite of the grandiose name, never was anything approaching a battalion. The four mission consisted of about 450 troops each rotation called Dutchbat I, II, III and IV. Armament was personal weapons and machine guns, in accordance with the UN mandate of UNPROFOR. The headquarters were installed in an old battery factory in PotočariPotocari
Potočari is a village in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, 6 km north-west of the town of Srebrenica. In the 1991 census it had 4,338 inhabitants, of whom 93% were Bosniaks and 7% were others, mainly Serbs.-War period:...
, 5 km from Srebrenica, and used 30 observation posts (OPs) throughout the perimeter of the enclave, mostly consisting of a sandbagged armored car and associated personnel and equipment.
UNPROFOR's mission was the protection of the civilian populace, of this Bosnian enclave (dubbed a "secure area" or "safe haven" by the UN) amongst many other places in former Yugoslavia. and its Rules of Engagement (ROE) allowed only to use force in acts of self-defense, counting on air support from NATO to guarantee the mission. Intervening in the fighting was strictly forbidden to all NATO troops, often to their great frustration.
DUTCHBAT's zone fell under siege by the VRS
Army of Republika Srpska
The Army of Republika Srpska ; Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske ) also referred to as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of today's Republika Srpska which was then the "Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", a self-proclaimed state within the internationally recognized...
, the Army of the Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
when NATO air forces started an all-out attack on the Bosnian Serbs besieging Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
Events
Described by some analysts as "a mousehole" because of its geographic location in a valley enclosed by hills and mountains, as befits a winter resort, the enclave underwent an easy blockade by the Bosnian-Serbian forces of Colonel General Ratko MladićRatko Mladić
Ratko Mladić is an accused war criminal and a former Bosnian Serb military leader. On May 31, 2011, Mladić was extradited to The Hague, where he was processed at the detention center that holds suspects for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia...
, isolating the Dutch battalion, causing serious deficiencies in provisions. One Dutch soldier died March 9 by mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
fire by VRS. When VRS artillery squashed the resistance of the 28ª Mountain Infantry Division, ARBiH, defending the town, Lieutenant-Colonel (Lt. Col., "Overste") Karremans made an urgent request for air support from the United Nations for two Dutch F-16s to attack heavy armour of the VRS. The attack never took place. It had to be cancelled when Serbian forces threatened the execution of 50 members of Dutchbat III seized as hostages. Mladić's column then took the town July 11, 1995, causing the displacement of many of the city's inhabitants. About 15,000 displaced persons undertook the flight towards Tuzla
Tuzla
Tuzla is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the 1991 census, it had 83,770 inhabitants, while the municipality 131,318. Taking the influx of refugees into account, the city is currently estimated to have 174,558 inhabitants...
on foot, but the majority looked for protection from the UN blue helmets in Potocari. During the flight of the column towards Tuzla, Dutch soldier Raviv van Rensen was attacked by the Bosnian Serbs and died.
Mladić met with Lt. Col. Karremans (video of the meeting is available on Youtube), and by serious threats made sure DUTCHBAT did not take part in the outcome. Under pretext of evacuating the Bosniak population to a sheltered city, most of the women and children were transferred by bus to a zone under Bosnian-Serb control, assuring that the men would be transferred later. But the Bosnian Serbs perpetrated a genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
on the males, the now well-known massacre of Srebrenica, in which approximately 8,000 Bosniak men of different ages were murdered by the military and paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
Bosnian-Serbian forces. On the 21st of July, with the entire zone already under control of the VRS, the Dutch battalion left the enclave. Its leave and Mladić's effusive goodbyes and gifts, filmed by Mladić's own propaganda teams, were picked up by TV stations worldwide.
From July till November 2005 Dutchbat IV served and mainly dealt with refugees at Simin Han, near Tuzla
Tuzla
Tuzla is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the time of the 1991 census, it had 83,770 inhabitants, while the municipality 131,318. Taking the influx of refugees into account, the city is currently estimated to have 174,558 inhabitants...
.
Consequences
This incident had great impact on public opinion in the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. An official investigation of the incident on the part of the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation (Nederlands Instituut voor oorlogsdocumentatie, NIOD] lasting seven years, published April 10, 2002, made the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the Netherlands
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands is the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Netherlands. He is the de facto head of government of the Netherlands and coordinates the policy of the government...
Wim Kok
Wim Kok
Willem "Wim" Kok ; born September 29, 1938) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party . He served as Prime Minister of the Netherlands from August 22, 1994 until July 22, 2002....
resign within six days. The 3,400-page report criticized the political and military High Commands of the Netherlands as being guilty of criminal negligence
Criminal negligence
In the criminal law, criminal negligence is one of the three general classes of mens rea element required to constitute a conventional as opposed to strict liability offense. It is defined as an act that is:-Concept:...
, for not preventing the massacre. The conclusions were devastating:
- The mission was not suitably prepared.
- There was no coordination between the Ministry of Defence (under Joris VoorhoeveJoris VoorhoeveJoris Jacob Clemens Voorhoeve is a Dutch politician, former minister, and university professor.Voorhoeve was the leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy between 1986 and 1990 and served as the Dutch Minister of Defence between 1994 and 1998. He is a member of the Dutch Council of...
) and of Ministry of Foreign AffairsMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs: it is occupied with the external relations of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, including European cooperation and International development...
(under Hans van MierloHans van MierloHenricus Antonius Franciscus Maria Oliva "Hans" van Mierlo was a Dutch politician of the Democrats 66 . In 1966 Van Mierlo together with Hans Gruijters founded the Democrats 66...
). - The contingent did not receive sufficient means to accomplish the mission. Adequate firepower and Forward Air Controllers (FACS) to direct air attacks were missing.
- The non-Dutch in charge of air support refused to give aid as requested by Karremans.
- The Netherlands and the UN did not perform their duty.
On December 4, 2006, Minister of Defence Henk Kamp
Henk Kamp
Henricus Gregorius Jozeph "Henk" Kamp is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy . He is the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment since October 14, 2010 in the Cabinet Rutte. He was the Commissioner of the Netherlands Antilles from January 1, 2009 until October, 10...
gave a decoration to the soldiers of Dutchbat III, draaginsigne DBIII. This award was severely criticized by the public as well as by some survivors and relatives of Srebrenica victims.
In June 2007 an association of relatives of the victims of the massacre presented a denunciation in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
against the Government of the Netherlands and the UN for its negligence in the massacre.
In October of the same year, twelve former members of DUTCHBAT III visited the Memorial for the Srebrenica massacre, paying tribute to the victims. The same group of relatives opposed their act of atonement to open dialogue.
According to testimonies of 171 of the members of the battalion, 65% left the Army, 40% of these requested psychological treatment, and 10% show symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Posttraumaticstress disorder is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that results in psychological trauma. This event may involve the threat of death to oneself or to someone else, or to one's own or someone else's physical, sexual, or psychological integrity,...
(official figure; health professionals treating these people deem the number much higher).