Dutch soldiers in Bosnia to fight Russian influence; First deployment since Srebrenica
For the first time in 12 years, a large group of Dutch soldiers is active in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia has been trying to increase its influence there for years. “We have to be very alert to that. It is located in the heart of Europe,” said outgoing Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren during a visit to Sarajevo.
About 150 Dutch soldiers are part of the European mission EUFOR. The vast majority come from the Marine Corps. They are stationed at Butmir Camp on the outskirts of the Bosnian capital and must promote peace and security. And counter Russia’s “growing influence.”
The Netherlands has a history in Bosnia, where a bloody civil war raged between 1992 and 1995. Thousands of Dutch soldiers were on a mission in the country at the time. In Srebrenica, they were faced with an impossible task. It ended with around 8,000 Muslim boys and men murdered by Bosnian Serb forces when they overran the enclave in 1995.
The soldiers don’t notice the Srebrenica history much on the streets. “We don’t feel any hostility,” said Adjutant Jasper Lopers of the Koninklijke Marechaussee, currently on his third deployment to Bosnia. It’s “emotional times,” he said. During his first deployment in 1992-1993, there was “violence everywhere.” And now his children are trying to visit while he runs his mission here.
Since the end of the civil war, the county has had two entities: a Bosnian Croat federation and the Republika Srpska, which is predominantly Serb. There is widespread cronyism among the political elite, and corruption is a major problem in the country. Young people leave because they see no future.
“Politicians tend to emphasize ethnic differences,” said Ambassador Henk van den Dool. “People have had enough of that.”
The Republika Srpska has close ties with Russia. President Milorad Dodik is currently in Moscow, visiting his friend President Vladimir Putin. Dodik is a “cause for concern; he is destabilizing,” the ambassador said. Russia wants to prevent further rapprochement between Bosnia and the EU and NATO. Dodik is an excellent tool for this.
Accession to the EU is ultimately the solution to Bosina’s problems, Ollongren thinks. Although she expects it will be a long road. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU has paid more attention to the Balkans. Bosnia received the status of a candidate member of the EU last year. Some countries hoped this would speed up the reform process. “I don’t see that yet,” said the ambassador.
