Friday, Apr 19, 2002
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By Batuk Gathani
Gen. Ad van Baal
The report, by the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, condemns the Dutch troops in Srebrenica for unwittingly assisting in "ethnic cleansing" by Serbian troops. The Dutch Defence Minister, Frank de Grave, told Parliament that Gen. van Baal, who had been in command for just one year, could "no longer function well" in that role. The decision has raised eyebrows in European military circles due to the brevity of Gen. van Baal's tenure as army chief. Mr. de Grave indicated that this might be "only the beginning of a shake-out", as he sought further clarity on the background of the massacre, seen as the worst atrocity in Europe since World War II. At the time of the incident, Gen. van Baal was second-in-command of the army. The Opposition's perception is that the Dutch Prime Minister, Wim Kok is "playing politics" and has questioned whether Mr. Kok and his colleagues would have resigned had the general election, slated for May 15, not been so close. There are some 2,100 Dutch military personnel posted abroad, of which nearly 1,200 are in Bosnia.
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