{{Short description|Dutch military officer (born 1948)}} {{More footnotes|date=September 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}} {{Infobox military person | honorific_prefix = | name = Thom Karremans | honorific_suffix = | image = File:Thom Karremans in 1995.jpg | image_upright = | alt = Thom Karremans in 1995 | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = | other_name = | nickname = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1948|11|29}} | birth_place = Apeldoorn, Netherlands | disappeared_date = | disappeared_place = | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | burial_place = | burial_label = | burial_coordinates = | allegiance = {{flagicon|Netherlands}} Netherlands | branch = Royal Netherlands Army | branch_label = | service_years = | service_years_label = | rank = Colonel | rank_label = | service_number = | unit = | commands = Commander of Dutchbat | known_for = | battles = {{tree list}} * Lebanese Civil War * Bosnian War ** Siege of Srebrenica *** Operation Krivaja '95 {{tree list/end}} | battles_label = | awards = | memorials = | alma_mater = Royal Military Academy | spouse = 1 | children = | relations = | other_work = | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | website = | module = }}
'''Thomas Jakob Peter Karremans''' (born 29 December 1948) is the former commander of Dutchbat troops in Srebrenica at the time of the Srebrenica genocide during the Bosnian War. Dutchbat had been assigned to defend the Bosniak enclave made the U.N. "safe area", but it failed to prevent the Serbs from taking the city.
==Military career== Karremans received his military training at the Royal Military Academy in the Netherlands, and he was part of the 1979-1980 UNIFIL peacekeepers in Lebanon. In the 1980s, he was stationed at the NATO Headquarters for SHAPE in Mons, Belgium, where he was involved in arms control. In 1991, Karremans had his first experience in Bosnia as liaison officer to the EC observation committee. He then became commander of an infantry battalion in Assen.<ref>{{cite news |title=Karremans met de rug tegen de muur |url=https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/karremans-met-de-rug-tegen-de-muur~bcd30e9c/ |access-date=31 October 2021 |work=Trouw |date=15 July 1995 |language=NL}}</ref>
==Presence in the staging area of the Srebrenica genocide== {{See|Srebrenica genocide}} In 1994 Karremans was appointed as commander of the Dutchbat III battalion that was deployed to the Srebrenica enclave as a part of the peacekeeping mission, under command of the United Nations in the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR).
On 11, 12, and 13 July 1995, the enclave was captured by Serb soldiers, while the Dutch battalion was stationed there. Karremans failed to follow the orders of General Gobilliard who requested him in writing to defend the enclave.<ref>https://shs.cairn.info/revue-cites-2007-4-page-93?lang=fr</ref> 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 by UN General Bernard Janvier).<ref>{{cite news |author1=Robert Dulmers |author2=Casper Thomas |title=Wie gaf het bevel? |url=https://www.groene.nl/artikel/wie-gaf-het-bevel |access-date=31 October 2021 |work=De Groene Amsterdammer |issue=20 |date=13 May 2015 |language=NL}}</ref> However the NATO air support arrived was too little and too late to stop the Serbian advance.
thumb|"Toast of shame" - left Mladić, 2nd from right Karremans (July 1995) 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 the Hague ICTY in 1996 that when his requests for NATO air strikes against Bosnian Serb troops were finally granted, they were "too late and too little."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/mladic/trans/en/960704it.htm|title=Transcript from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.|date=13 June 2013|website=www.icty.org}}</ref>
===Reactions regarding the Dutchbat presence during the attack, occupation and genocide 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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/serbia/8877056/Commander-of-UN-forces-aware-Srebrenica-massacre-was-about-to-happen.html|title=Commander of UN forces 'aware Srebrenica massacre was about to happen'|website=www.telegraph.co.uk}}</ref>
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.<ref name="Trouw 1996">{{cite news |title=Voorhoeve wist niet van promotie overste Karremans |url=https://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/voorhoeve-wist-niet-van-promotie-overste-karremans~b1098dda/ |access-date=31 October 2021 |work=Trouw |date=3 February 1996 |language=NL}}</ref>
===Promotion after returning to the Netherlands=== Shortly after his return to The Netherlands Karremans was promoted to full colonel, which caused controversy.<ref name="Trouw 1996" />
===Complaints through the justice system against Karremans=== In 2010, Hasan Nuhanović, a survivor of the Srebrenica genocide, and the relatives of the murdered Muslim electrician Rizo Mustafić (who was employed by Dutchbat during the genocide until he was turned over to the Serbs and killed) made a legal complaint of genocide and war crimes against Karremans, his former deputy Major Rob Franken, and human resources manager Berend Oosterveen for their transfer of the Muslim families to the Serbs.<ref>[http://www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article2576813.ece/Aangifte_tegen_Dutchbatters_wegens_genocide legal complaint against Dutchbat-commanders due to Genocide] - NRC Handelsblad, 6 July 2010 (''Dutch'')</ref> The Public Prosecution Service first concluded in a Nolle prosequi decision that Karremans and the other persons were not culpable. Through a special procedure (Dutch art. 12 ''Wet strafvordering''), this decision was brought to court. On 29 April 2015, the court in Arnhem confirmed that Karremans and his secondants should not be prosecuted.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url = http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/4039768/karremans-definitief-niet-vervolgd-rol-in-srebrenica.html|title = Karremans not prosecuted for role in Srebrenica|date = 29 April 2015|access-date = 29 April 2015|language = nl}}</ref> Directly after the ruling, the lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld announced an appeal at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).<ref name=":0" /> The ECHR declared the case inadmissible, on 30 August 2016, arguing that it "cannot find that there was any misrepresentation of facts or arguments by the Military Chamber of the Court of Appeal" in Arnhem.<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-167040%22]} |title=Decision – Application no. 49037/15, Mehida Mustafić-Mujić and others against the Netherlands | date=30 August 2016 | publisher=European Court of Human Rights | access-date=13 May 2021 }}</ref>
==After army career== After retiring from the army, Karremans and his wife moved to Spain, partly because of death threats in his native Netherlands.<ref>{{cite web |last = Taylor |first = Rachel S. |year = 2004 |url = https://iwpr.net/global-voices/karremans-recalls-srebrenica-fall |title = Karremans Recalls Srebrenica Fall |work = Tribunal Update |publisher = Institute for War & Peace Reporting |access-date = 2017-01-15}}</ref> He wrote of his experiences at Srebrenica in ''Een puzzel van de werkelijkheid'' (translated ''A puzzle of reality''). 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.literatuurplein.nl/boekdetail.jsp?boekId=53807|archive-url = https://archive.today/20150501100828/http://www.literatuurplein.nl/boekdetail.jsp?boekId=53807|url-status = dead|archive-date = 1 May 2015|title = Srebrenica who cares?|access-date = 1 May 2015|publisher = Literatuurplein|language = nl}} </ref>
==See also== *Dutchbat
==References== <references/>
==Further reading== *{{cite web |last = Jones |first = Graham |year = 2006 |url = http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/02/22/warcrimes.srebrenica/ |title = Srebrenica: 'A triumph of evil' |work = World News |publisher = Cable News Network LP, LLLP. |access-date = 2006-07-02 }} *{{cite book |last = Karremans |first = Thomas |author-link = Thom Karremans |year = 1998 |title = Srebrenica, who cares?: Een puzzel van de werkelijkheid |publisher = Arko |language = nl |isbn = 90-72047-54-0}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Karremans, Thom}} Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:Dutch colonels Category:Dutch officials of the United Nations Category:Graduates of the Koninklijke Militaire Academie Category:People from Apeldoorn Category:Royal Netherlands Army officers Category:United Nations personnel in the Bosnian War Category:United Nations Protection Force soldiers