The Hague: The Dutch Supreme Court on Friday slashed the state’s liability for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian War, saying peacekeepers had only a “slim” chance of preventing the deaths of hundreds of Muslim men.
Judges reduced to 10 per cent from 30 per cent the Dutch state’s responsibility for compensation to the families of 350 victims killed by Bosnian Serb forces who overran the safe haven.
Lightly-armed Dutch UN peacekeepers were overrun by the Bosnian Serbs during the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, triggering the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II.
Almost 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in the genocide at Srebrenica.
“The Dutch State bears very limited liability in the ‘Mothers of Srebrenica’ case,” the Supreme Court said. “That liability is limited to 10 per cent of the damages suffered by the surviving relatives of approximately 350 victims.”
The relatives are represented by the Mothers of Srebrenica victims’ organisation which sued for compensation, sparking a years-long legal battle.
Munira Subasic, the stalwart president of the Mothers afterwards said she was disappointed with the judgement.
“Today we experienced humiliation upon humiliation. We could not even hear the judgement in our own language because we were not given a translator,” she said.
At Srebrenica “every life was taken away 100 per cent. There is little we can do with 10 per cent, but yes, the responsibility still lies where it does.”
“I only have two bones. I have found less than 10 per cent of his body,” added Subasic, who for years have been fighting for justice for the massacre victims’ families.
A Dutch court originally held the state liable for compensation in 2014. In 2017 the appeals court upheld that decision before it was referred to the Supreme Court.
The lower court had said in 2017 that the Dutch actions meant the Muslims were “denied a 30 per cent chance of avoiding abuse and execution”, and thus the Dutch state was liable for 30 per cent of damages owed to families.
The Supreme Court agreed that “the state did act wrongfully in relation to the evacuation of the 5,000 refugees” in the compound, including 350 Muslim men the Bosnian Serbs were unaware of.
It said the Dutch peacekeepers “failed to offer these 350 male refugees the choice to stay where they were, even though that would have been possible”. But explaining the decision to reduce the liability, the Supreme Court said that “the chance that the male refugees would have escaped the Bosnian Serbs had they been given the choice to stay was slim, but not negligible.”
In a swipe at the failure of other foreign powers to act, the top court added that the “chance of Dutchbat (the Dutch UN mission) receiving effective support from the international community was slim”.
Former Dutchbat soldiers attending the case said they were disappointed on behalf of the victims’ families.
“I think the final judgement is a bit disappointing, especially when you see the court ruling of 30 per cent and now it’s downgraded to 10 per cent,” said Remko de Bruijne, a former Dutch blue helmet who served at Srebrenica.
“I think that’s not fair for the Mothers of Srebrenica but, on the other hand, now it’s clear,” said. — AFP
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