Dutchbat commander Thom Karremans was actually aware that thousands of Muslim men would be killed after the fall of the Srebrenica enclave in Bosnia in 1995. This is the claim made by former Dutchbat surgeon Ger Kremer in an interview scheduled for broadcast on Dutch public television this Wednesday.

Dutchbat was the Dutch UN peacekeeping force tasked with protecting the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica against Bosnian Serb forces during the Bosnian war.

Kremer accuses Karremans of lying under oath to the Yugoslavia Tribunal and a Dutch parliamentary inquiry. The surgeon says Karremans and himself watched 8,000 Muslims being taken away after the enclave fell to Bosnian Serb forces in July 1995. When Kremer asked what would become of the men, Karremans allegedly said they would come to no good.

Karremans denies the allegations: “I'm sticking to my earlier statement.” The former Dutchbat commander says he never even saw men being taken away, let alone knew they would be killed.

Military historian Christ Klep says Karremans’ version of the story is inaccurate. Mr Klep says many of the dozens of former Dutchbat soldiers he has interviewed said they knew about the impending genocide and their commander must have known as well.

(gsh/tf)

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide