EPA
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NOS News•yesterday, 21:14
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Many relatives of the genocide in Srebrenica feel relief after the long awaited apologies of the Dutch government. They see the fact that the government, 27 years after the mass murder, recognizes that the international community, including the Netherlands, has failed to protect the enclave as a positive gesture.
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At the same time, relatives wonder why the Dutch apology has taken almost thirty years. “Of course we think: why did it have to take so long?”, says one of them in Potocari, where the genocide is commemorated every year. “But we see it as a good thing. Bravo to the minister.”
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This morning, Minister Ollongren offered the “deepest apologies” to the relatives of the genocide on behalf of the Netherlands. The Defense Minister said at the commemoration in Potocari that the Dutch government shares in political responsibility “for the situation in which this failure could happen”.
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“We offer our deepest apologies for that,” said Ollongren:
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Minister Ollongren apologizes on behalf of the Netherlands to relatives of the genocide in Srebrenica
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Many participants in the Srebrenica commemoration in The Hague are also happy with the apologies, but emphasize that they come very late. And a ‘sorry’ is not enough for everyone. “I’m not going to get my father back with it,” says one of them.
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The organization behind the Hague commemoration calls the apologies overwhelming. “I have no words for it,” says Leila Prnjavorac of the National Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance. “Finally the time has come. I am also glad that the minister has done that there in Potocari. It is a wonderful, important historical event.”
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The question is what to do next. Financial compensation is not the most important for next of kin, says Prnjavorac. “It’s really about being recognized. That’s important to be able to move on and to heal.”
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Prnjavorac does think that the Dutch history books should clearly state what exactly happened. And she has one more wish: in her opinion, the apologies would take on even more shine if Prime Minister Rutte also pronounces them on behalf of the cabinet. “As he did with the Dutchbat soldiers.”
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The soldiers of Dutchbat III, who were part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1995, were last month already apologize for the circumstances under which they were sent to Srebrenica.
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International research
The Dutchbat III association says today that it is pleased with the government’s apology. “We have long insisted that the relatives also receive an apology,” says the chairman, veteran Olaf Nijeboer. “That is important, you can only continue if you have spoken out to each other that something went wrong. It has helped us a lot and there is now peace. I hope that will also apply to the next of kin and survivors.”
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The association supports the fact that many relatives are advocating for new international research. “We would prefer to enter into discussions with them at the United Nations,” says Nijeboer. He hopes that other countries, like the Netherlands, will recognize their role in the drama. “The international community has failed Bosnia.”
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