Balkan genocide blamed on gays
Mourners read the names of those who lost their lives at Srebrenica
Photo: Radio Netherlands Worldwide
Dutch MPs have been lining up to condemn former US General John Sheehan's comments linking openly gay Dutch UN troops with the failure to prevent the massacres at Srebrenica in 1995. The US is currently locked in debate about whether to allow openly gay troops.
The former NATO commander said Dutch military leaders told him that the presence of homosexual soldiers contributed to the fall of Srebrenica. Referring to the 1995 massacre of over 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys, he said the gay troops were "part of the problem."
The Dutch government has been quick to hit back at the former marine commander's claims.
"It is astonishing that a man of his stature can utter such complete nonsense," Dutch Defence Ministry spokesman Roger van de Wetering told AFP. He added that, after investigations into Srebrenica, it was never "concluded that the sexual orientation of soldiers played a role."
Caretaker Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen accused the general of making the comments simply to score political points. "I'm afraid this is mainly inspired by discussion in the US about homosexuality in the army," he said.
Srebrenica remains a sensitive subject in the Netherlands, where a six-year investigation into the massacre led to the fall of the government in 2002.
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