Thom Karremans
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Thomas Jakob Peter Karremans (born 29 December 1948) is the former commander of
Military career
Karremans received his military training at the
Presence in the staging area of the Srebrenica massacre
In 1994 Karremans was appointed as commander of the
On 11, 12, and 13 July 1995, the enclave was captured by Serb soldiers, while the Dutch battalion was stationed there. Karremans requested NATO air support to defend the enclave, as the Dutch were driven further into the narrow enclave (Karremans requested air strikes several times, in particular from the French – which was witnessed from neutral Switzerland, but they were first denied, then delayed, and later granted them by UN General Bernard Janvier).[2] However the NATO air support arrived was too little and too late to stop the Serbian advance.
After Serbian forces entered Srebrenica, Karremans was interrogated by Serb General Ratko Mladić. During the interrogation, Karremans was confined against a wall and surrounded by Serb soldiers, defensive and submissive, but forced to drink alcohol (a white wine spritzer) by Mladić and, in particular, later had to excuse himself from ever requesting air strikes against Bosnian Serb forces, claiming the decision was made by higher authorities based on information he provided.
Under the pretext of evacuating the Bosniak population to a sheltered city, Serbs transferred most of the women and children by bus to a zone under Bosnian Serb control, claiming that the men would be transferred later.
Karremans has said a Serb blockade had left his soldiers desperately short of food and fuel. He told
Reactions regarding the Dutchbat presence during the attack and occupation of Srebrenica
In 1999, the United Nations admitted its error in expecting a small number of troops to protect the Srebrenica Safe Area.
Karremans has always denied that he was aware of the fact that thousands of Muslim men and boys he saw being taken away by Bosnian Serbs were going to be murdered. At least one Dutchbat member, former Dutch army surgeon Ger Kremers, has stated that he and Karremans watched the men being taken away by Serb forces. Karremans is alleged to have said, "It will not end well with them." Kremer also has accused Karremans of lying under oath to the UN Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal and a Dutch parliamentary inquiry. Also, the Dutch military historian Christ Klep has disputed the commander's account. Klep interviewed dozens of former Dutchbat troops who said they were aware "about the impending genocide."[4]
At a press conference in Zagreb, Karremans stated that there were no "good guys and bad guys" in this conflict. He also praised the strategic qualities of Mladic. His statements got Dutch secretary of Defence Joris Voorhoeve into political trouble.[5]
Promotion after returning to the Netherlands
Shortly after his return to The Netherlands Karremans was promoted to full colonel, which caused controversy.[5]
Complaints through the justice system against Karremans
In 2010,
After army career
After retiring from the army, Karremans and his wife moved to Spain, partly because of death threats in his native Netherlands.[9] He wrote of his experiences at Srebrenica in Een puzzel van de werkelijkheid. He describes problems and dilemmas for him and his men during six months in Bosnia and six days of war. In the book, Karremans gives his view on the lack of support from the Dutch politicians at the time. He felt that he was forced by the Dutch politicians to fight with his hands behind his back.[10]
See also
References
- ^ "Karremans met de rug tegen de muur". Trouw (in Dutch). 15 July 1995. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ Robert Dulmers; Casper Thomas (13 May 2015). "Wie gaf het bevel?". De Groene Amsterdammer (in Dutch). No. 20. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ "Transcript from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia". www.icty.org. 13 June 2013.
- ^ "Commander of UN forces 'aware Srebrenica massacre was about to happen'". www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ a b "Voorhoeve wist niet van promotie overste Karremans". Trouw (in Dutch). 3 February 1996. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
- ^ legal complaint against Dutchbat-commanders due to Genocide - NRC Handelsblad, 6 July 2010 (Dutch)
- ^ a b "Karremans not prosecuted for role in Srebrenica" (in Dutch). 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ "Decision – Application no. 49037/15, Mehida Mustafić-Mujić and others against the Netherlands". European Court of Human Rights. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ Taylor, Rachel S. (2004). "Karremans Recalls Srebrenica Fall". Tribunal Update. Institute for War & Peace Reporting. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
- ^ "Srebrenica who cares?" (in Dutch). Literatuurplein. Retrieved 1 May 2015. [dead link]
Further reading
- Jones, Graham (2006). "Srebrenica: 'A triumph of evil'". World News. Cable News Network LP, LLLP. Retrieved 2 July 2006.
- Karremans, Thomas (1998). Srebrenica, who cares?: Een puzzel van de werkelijkheid (in Dutch). Arko. ISBN 90-72047-54-0.