Dutch top court cuts state’s liability for Srebrenica massacre

THE HAGUE: The Dutch Supreme Court late 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 percent from 30 percent 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 percent 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 told AFP. At Srebrenica "every life was taken away 100 percent. There is little we can do with 10 percent, but yes, the responsibility still lies where it does."

"I only have two bones. I have found less than 10 percent 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 percent chance of avoiding abuse and execution", and thus the Dutch state was liable for 30 percent 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 percent and now it’s downgraded to 10 percent," 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," he told AFP. But he said many former Dutchbat soldiers believed Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte should plead a case at the UN, which he said was "responsible for the other 90 percent".

"Maybe after this ruling we can have a communal fight so that we stand together and say to the prime minister: ‘Why don’t you go to the UN... why don’t you think that the international community can pay for the rest of the 90 percent?’"

Srebrenica has cast a long shadow over The Netherlands, forcing a the government to resign in 2002 after a scathing report over the role of politicians in the failure of the peacekeepers.