He was blamed for genocide: The Netherlands gives 5 thousand euros in reward to its soldiers in Srebrenica

On Wednesday (10 February), the Dutch government announced it would pay 5,000 euros, all army veterans who have served under the UN peacekeeping mission in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The payment will be made, as “service is said to be under dire conditions”.

In 1995, the United Nations mission failed to prevent genocide of Bosnian Muslims, reports the AP. The Netherlands has had about 850 soldiers in Bosnia.

Dutch troops have been present at Srebrenica when Bosnian Serb fighters heavily armed and headed by General Ratko Mladic entered the city and killed and massacred more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys. Mladic has been convicted of genocide by the International Court for War Crimes in the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

The Netherlands has long faced the consequences of this event. The government of former Prime Minister Wim Kok resigned in 2002 after Dutch authorities sharply criticised sending troops to the danger zone without weapons and authority needed to protect about 30,000 refugees who fled to a Dutch base in eastern Bosnia.

In 2019, the Netherlands Supreme Court ruled that the Netherlands was partly responsible for the deaths of about 350 Muslims who were killed by Bosnian Serb forces.

On the other hand, the United Nations has been criticised for failing to approve air strikes to support Dutch troops on the ground. / REL