Dutch government resigned 22 years ago over Srebrenica report

(Patria) - Following the official report on Srebrenica, the Dutch government and the Chief of General Staff resigned on April 16, 2002.

The report stated that Dutch peacekeepers and the United Nations bear part of the responsibility for the fall of the enclave in July 1995 into the hands of the Army of Republika Srpska, and that they thus allowed the genocide of around 10,000 Bosniaks.

The report was published by the Dutch Institute for War Documentation on April 10, 2002.

The Dutch government considered it a moral act to resign after the report on the fall of Srebrenica assessed that it was also responsible for the genocide. The resignation came four weeks before the general elections.

The analysis concluded that the Dutch army's blue helmets, or Dutchbat, sent to Srebrenica were unprepared, unaware of their mandate. Subsequently, ministers made inadequate decisions.

The military leadership, on the other hand, hid information from politicians, literally lied and covered up problems, so that in addition to the undeniable responsibility of the forces led by war criminal Ratko Mladić and the indecisive international community, the Dutch government is also to blame for the genocide, the Institute's report emphasized.

A special part of the story is the assessment that the Dutch entered the Srebrenica mission completely technically, tactically, strategically unprepared, driven by a sincere desire to help people. Good intentions turned into tragedy.

Considering resignation a moral act, the exceptionally principled then-Minister of Environment, and in previous governments Minister for Development Cooperation, Jan Pronk, announced his intentions. Minister of Defense Frank de Grave joined Pronk.

Since the report holds Prime Minister Wim Kok, who came to head the government on the eve of the Srebrenica genocide, responsible, and therefore the responsibility extends to his predecessor Ruud Lubbers and the cabinet at the time – the prime minister also received his share of criticism. After a long closed-door debate, the government resigned.

- This is the blackest day of my political career - stated the resigning prime minister.

Until the elections and the formation of a new ruling coalition, the resigning government performed a caretaker function, meaning it only handled current affairs.