No collective claims Dutchbatters

The Ministry of Defence disagrees with a collective arrangement for compensation for at least ten Dutchbat soldiers, reports a spokesperson Wednesday. Lawyer Geert Jan Knoops had pleaded in a letter to the House for such an arrangement.Any request for damage claims are viewed and assessed separately. It concerns soldiers who have become traumatized during their deployment in Srebrenica and received inadequate aftercare on return.

The reason for Knoops' plea is the decision in the case of former Dutchbat soldier Dave Maat. This summer Knoops reached a settlement for the soldier, after 10 years of legal battle. According to Defence there are already various aftercare arrangements available for traumatized former soldiers. Dutchbat was responsible for the defense of the Muslim enclave of Srebrenica. In July 1995 troops of the Bosnian Serb General Mladic overran the enclave. Thousands of Bosnian Muslims were killed.