In the woods around the Oranjekazerne in Schaarsbergen, Gelderland, only a few cyclists brave the heat, their shirts wide open – and there is still shade. On the parade ground, the sun burns relentlessly on the white armored car with UN lettering, in the grandstand with dignitaries and family members, and especially on the approximately 325 Dutchbat veterans present, lined up for a ceremony that many of them have looked forward to for years. . Due to the weather conditions, the uniform jackets are allowed to take off, the master of ceremonies announces, while defense personnel distribute packages of cold water.
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Photo Bram Petraeus
Decoration of Merit
But when the last sounds of the Wilhelmus, played by the Royal Military Band Johan Willem Friso, have died down an hour and a half later, Remko de Bruijne (50) is still in a tight suit. On the chest of his buttoned jacket, the Medal of Merit in bronze has just been adorned, which can be awarded since 2017 to anyone who “has delivered an exceptional performance or has made an exceptional contribution to a part of the armed forces”.
De Bruijne, who as director of the Dutchbat III association has been making efforts for years to recognize Dutchbat veterans, was presented with the award by Minister Kajsa Ollongren (Defence, D66), as were two relatives of Raviv van Renssen and Jeffrey Broere, the two Dutch soldiers who were killed in the mission. But all other Dutchbat veterans will also receive the medal.
People asked if I had seen deaths, but not how I was doing
Molty Adams (51) Veteran Dutchbat III
An important gesture, says De Bruijne, who served as a 19-year-old soldier in the Charlie Company and was already on site yesterday to help organize the ceremony. Because many of the approximately 850 veterans of Dutchbat III, the Dutch mission that unsuccessfully tried under the UN flag in 1995 to protect the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica against the troops of the Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, in 27 years since little recognition and appreciation. From society, from the media, but also from the government and from their employer, Defence.
Need care and support
A study published at the end of 2020 by the ARQ National Psychotrauma Center showed that one in three Dutchbat soldiers still needs care and support. In fact, 20 percent have so many problems with the mission and its aftermath that their quality of life is insufficient. A perceived lack of recognition plays an important role for many veterans. Half of the respondents said they do not feel sufficiently valued by society. They felt even less appreciation from the Ministry of Defense (62 percent) and the media (84 percent).
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He himself says that he has not been bothered by such emotions. But ‘if one Dutchbat soldier leaves here with the feeling that he can now close it, my task is completed’.
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Photo Bram Petraeus
Such a person is Jerrel van den Heuvel (52), who slaps De Bruijne on the shoulder on his way to the reunion tent. „Remko! You did it!” He is “happy and relieved” that “the right people have finally said the right things.” The right people and the right things are Ollongren and Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who apologized on behalf of the government for the government’s actions in 1995: “For the fact that the mandate, equipment and military support were inadequate during the deployment. That you were sent on a mission that gradually proved unfeasible.”
In 1995, the military was tasked with protecting the Bosnian Muslim enclave of Srebrenica during the war with Bosnian Serb forces led by General Ratko Mladic. Dutchbat turned out to be too lightly armed and to have an insufficient mandate. When Dutchbat asked the UN for air support, this was not forthcoming and Srebrenica was taken by surprise.
Back in the Netherlands, the criticism prevailed: Dutchbat had been cowardly, it had given up the enclave without a fight, according to public opinion. In reality, the Dutchbat soldiers held back Mladic’s advancing troops for a day and a half.
So Van den Heuvel, who, as a 22-year-old convoy commander, was responsible for connections between central Bosnia and the Croatian capital Zagreb, needed that recognition: „That it was not our fault. Sincere apologies that we were not equipped for the mission. We have been badly let down.”
He himself went there as a young sergeant “optimistic,” he says. “But it wasn’t a peace mission at all, we were directly surrounded by bombs and grenades.”
Guilt
After his return to the Netherlands, Van den Heuvel suffered a lot from feelings of guilt. After Mladic overran the enclave, Bosnian Serbs murdered more than 8,000 Muslim boys and men, the largest genocide on the European continent since World War II. “I was scarred by it, I became sleepless,” he says. It changed him as a person: before he was not aggressive, and he never came into contact with the law.
Molty Adams (51) also struggled with insomnia and nightmares. He experienced moments of fear when he was held hostage by Bosnian Serb fighters for four days. On his return to the Netherlands, like many other veterans, he felt little appreciation for the Dutchbat soldiers. “People were making silly jokes. They asked if I had seen deaths, but not how I was doing.”
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Photo Bram Petraeus
For Van den Heuvel, this Saturday’s ceremony is really a closure, but that may also be because, after years of legal battles, he received “significant compensation” two years ago. Many other veterans are still waiting for such individual reparation. Defense did pay all Dutchbat soldiers a one-off 5,000 euros, as a “gesture and token of appreciation”.
That, like the organization of today’s ceremony, was a recommendation of a committee headed by State Councilor Hans Borstlap, which reported in December 2020. Former minister Ank Bijleveld (Defense, CDA) adopted the advice, but due to the corona pandemic, the meeting had to wait another year and a half.
Adams is also happy with the apologies and the expressed appreciation, but also sees today’s ceremony as an opportunity to meet fellow veterans he has not seen for far too long. “We’re all in our 50s now, but it was like being home right away.” After the ceremony, he goes to the white reunion tent further up the property, where the press is not welcome, and loud party music is played.