Dutch cabinet holds Srebrenica crisis meeting
The Dutch cabinet today met for crisis talks to discuss the damaging Srebrenica report which has prompted two ministers to consider resigning.
Prime Minister Wim Kok called his 15 member cabinet to a special session less than a week after the publication of the report on the fall of the Muslim enclave in July 1995.
Since the release of the document on Wednesday, Environment Minister Jan Pronk and Defence Minister Frank de Grave said they were considering stepping down, a development that could lead to the collapse of the entire government.
The Dutch military was in charge of peacekeeping operations in the region when Serb forces slaughtered at least 7,500 men and boys in a week of bloodshed at the end of 1992-1995 Bosnia war.
The report, which took nearly six years to research, harshly criticised the government for sending Dutch soldiers into a danger zone without a proper mandate or the weapons needed to defend around 30,000 refugees who had fled to the Dutch base seeking protection.
In his first reaction, Kok said the government would accept responsibility for its failure to protect the enclave.
One of the most serious accusations was that the army withheld information about the massacres from the public and then-Defence Minister Joris Voorhoeve in an effort to protect its reputation.
After eight years under the leadership of Wim Kok, the Netherlands is set to hold general elections in less than a month. The three parties of the current government coalition have indicated they will not seek a third term together.
