Dutch Trauma

1 June 2011 - From the BBC: The extradition of Ratko Mladic to the Netherlands for trial on genocide charges is particularly poignant. The Dutch have a special interest in bringing him to justice because of their role - some would call it complicity - in the Srebrenica massacre. More than any other nation, the Netherlands - whose peacekeepers failed to protect Muslim refugees in Srebrenica - has agitated for his arrest. His detention has, therefore, sparked a collective sigh of relief here. But, for some, it has also revived a deep shame that remains in the Dutch conscience. Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal called the news of Mladic's arrest "happy and historic". He spoke of "redress" for both the relatives of the victims and the Dutch battalion of UN soldiers (Dutchbat) that proved unable to defend the "safe haven" of Srebrenica. More than 7,000 men and boys were killed there, after it was overrun by Gen Mladic's forces. "Dutchbat suffered too," he added during a TV debate, referring to the disorders that afflict many veterans. Delight over the arrest is still tempered by the collective trauma Dutch society suffered from Dutchbat's failure. The NRC Handelsblad daily warns that Gen Mladic's trial in The Hague will not "close the book on Srebrenica".