Dutch Hypocrisy
(From today's Wall Street Journal Europe)
Eric A. Witte and Kurt Bassuener claim that Dutch intransigence to unlock the
EU trade agreement with Serbia rests on some higher moral ground ("The Low
Countries Take the High Road," op-ed, Sept. 15). Nothing could be further from
the truth.
Had the Dutch government really wanted to show that it takes its international
role and morality in politics and war seriously, it would have put to trial its
officers who, by their inaction, allowed the appalling crime in Srebrenica to
take place. They were indeed accomplices of Gen. Ratko Mladic, whom the Dutch
government currently insists to see, at any cost, at the Hague. But clearly the
Dutch regarded their own lives as too valuable to be sacrificed fighting for
what they were ostensibly trying to achieve in Bosnia.
Second, when relatives of the victims of Srebrenica recently raised the issues
of monetary compensation for the Dutch dereliction of duty, the Dutch
government had a chance to show that it takes the issue seriously and is
willing to share the moral blame. But the Dutch decided that their troops
cannot be held liable for what they did, or failed to do, while operating under
a United Nations mandate. If that's the case, the troops should not have been
sent there in the first place.
Third, one marvels at how the Dutch government can claim to uphold
international law when it is simultaneously pressuring Serbia not to ask the
International Court's opinion on the legality of Kosovo's secession (which the
Netherlands promptly recognized). If the Dutch believe in international law,
what do they fear?
In reality, the Dutch authorities' intransigence serves only one cause: It is
designed to deflect the blame from themselves.
Branko Milanovic
Washington
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122159704519344529.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
