Liesbeth (36) was a UN Dutchbat soldier when the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica fell to Bosnian Serb troops led by General Ratko Mladic. She now lives in the village of Vreedam, southwest of Amsterdam, with her two children.
Mladic' first day in court
Friday was former general Ratko Mladic’s first day in court at the UN Yugoslavia Tribunal in The Hague. He refused to enter a plea and denounced the 11 charges against him as “obnoxious” and “monstrous”. But he said he hasn’t been able to read them yet because he’s too ill. The court has adjourned for 30 days to give Mladic time to prepare his defence. The former general in the Bosnian Serb army is charged with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. He refused to comment on the charges but made his feelings about them clear. "I did not kill Croats as Croats,” he said, “I was just defending my country." Family of the men murdered in Srebrenica responded with fury at Mladic’s response. There were shouts of “butcher” and “monster” from the public gallery. Mladic couldn’t hear what they were saying, but responded with an affable smile to gestures from the public. The trial is set to continue on 4 July.
More on Ratko Mladic's first day in court
"My connection with Mr Mladic? In 1995 I was with Dutchbat 3. In mid-July I was serving in the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica, stationed in Potocari. Ratko Mladic personally waved me goodbye with the words “Bye bye Dutchbat”. I found it extremely humiliating. But it was also a relief, because we would finally be going home. In the weeks before, he had been ruling the roost in the enclave. With well-known disastrous results.
"The moment I saw him up close, it occurred to me, ‘I could shoot him right now’. The thought quickly vanished because it was a stupid idea. Him, guarded, on his own territory, with lots of Serbian soldiers in the area. Me, with an Uzi (it had previously failed a test because of technical defects), with all my much-loved colleagues and an unbelievable urge to get home safely. What would have happened if I’d tried it?
Goose bumps
"After sixteen years he’s been arrested. I hear the news from an editor of the current affairs programme Zembla. I’m overcome by a feeling of rapture. My heartbeat quickens and I get goose bumps all over. Finally he’s been arrested. Will he be going to the Yugoslavia Tribunal in The Hague? Will I go there too? I don’t know yet. I need to let it sink in. But this is my chance to wave Ratko goodbye.
"I get a text message from a former Dutchbat soldier who wants to go to Scheveningen, where Mladic will be detained. Outside the prison I arrive in a real media circus. I see groups of women with Bosnian flags wrapped around their bodies. They’re just standing and looking and hardly exchanging a word.
Serbian flag
"There’s also a group with a Serbian flag. They’re doing most of the talking. Of course they don’t agree with Mladic’s arrest and certainly not that he’s going to be tried at the tribunal. I don’t like the feeling that we’re all here for the same reason. But everyone has a right to their own opinion, so I have to accept this group too.
"Then we hear that the helicopter that’s supposed to be carrying Mladic is leaving the airfield on its way towards us. It’s another moment for goose bumps. Not long afterwards a police helicopter appears. The crowd gets agitated. Mobile phones ring and everyone peers tensely at the sky. But we can’t see any helicopter.
Hard luck
"Would Mladic be coming by car after all? If so, I decide I’m going to jump over the fence and harass the car. I barely think of the consequences, I’ll probably just accept them. I see myself spending the night in a cell. But it doesn’t come to that. I do jump over the fence, but only to see the side entrance to the jail. A number of cars have just driven in. The other helicopter has landed in the courtyard. Hard luck! I didn’t see him. But I still have a feeling of satisfaction.
"Mladic is close by again, after so many years. But this time I don’t feel any humiliation. I do feel relieved, because he’s not ruling the roost any more."
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Sorry to hear that Liesbeth (36) does not have the courage to talk about what she thougth and did in de days before Mladic waived her goodbye, which is probably assisting in the preperation and execution of Genocide, like may Dutch bat soldiers did: guarding populations in prison while Serb soldiers slaugther their children, even laughing looking at it, selecting and loading the victims in trucks, and digging the first mass grave on Potocari. Now that would be really reporting on international justice.
Maybe the day will come that soldiers like Liesbeth, preferably starting with Couzy and Karremans, will have to face the ICTY themselves, for compliciting in Genocide.
Sorry to hear that Liesbeth (36) does not have the courage to talk about what she thougth and did in de days before Mladic waived her goodbye, which is probably assisting in the preperation and execution of Genocide, like may Dutch bat soldiers did: guarding populations in prison while Serb soldiers slaugther their children, even laughing looking at it, selecting and loading the victims in trucks, and digging the first mass grave on Potocari.
Maybe the day will come that soldiers like Liesbeth, preferably starting with Couzy and Karremans, will have to face th ICTU themselves, for compliciting in Genocide.
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