Dutch Courage

The Dutch were honour bound to fight and if necessary dieThe Netherlands prides itself on its alleged tradition of liberalism, yet the reality is a tradition of oppression, religious intolerance and Xenophobia. For its large Muslim minority, the Netherlands is arguably the most illiberal and repressive State in the European Union. However, it is not for the persecution of Muslims at home that the Netherlands is despised in the Muslim World. It is for it complicity in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, when a Dutch UN peacekeeping forces, stood idly by when 8,000 Muslim men and boys were abducted in what was supposed to be a UN safe haven and executed by the Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladic.

Of course the Dutch plead impotence and pointed out that they did not have the cover of air support to repel the Serb irregulars. Hence rather than carry out his duty, Tom Karremans, the Dutch commander at Srebrenica, was to be photographed socialising and drinking with his host General Mladic. The Dutch bargained away the lives of these 8,000 for the release of 14 kidnapped peacekeepers, they knew what was happening and did nothing to prevent it.

Civil Wars are always brutal. Genocide is to be expected. However what was not expected, was that having committed itself to defending this UN safe haven, the Dutch would display such cowardice. The indifference of the Dutch towards Bosnian Muslims may in part be explained by a national loathing of Islam but it was nevertheless a gross dereliction of duty: the Dutch were honour bound to fight and if necessary die. Their failure so to do, not only reflects badly upon the Netherlands, it reflects badly upon the United Nations.

Thus, when Henk Kamp, the Dutch defence minister honoured these soldiers with medals, he not only made a laughingstock of his country - which will ever after been known as a nation that rewards cowardice - he has signalled the value that the Netherlands place on Muslim life.