Dutch Soldiers Take Ministry of Defense to Court

Dutch soldiers of the Dutchbat battalion, a part of the U.N. forces in Srebrenica, are taking the Dutch Ministry of Defense to court.  They say that they were not protected against asbestos, radiation, and other poisonous materials in the location in which they served.  According to their commander, Thom Karremans, the soldiers should never have been located in the heavily damaged and dirty factory for car batteries.  The Ministry of Defense says that the soldiers had not been submitted to undue risk, however, it admits that they were not sufficiently informed.

https://www.telegraaf.nl/nieuws/3146289/dutchbat-militairen-aangifte-tegen-defensie

Dutch government commissions report against Israel's Supreme Court

The Dutch government commissioned and financed a report by an extremist Israeli NGO B’Tselem.  The report attacks Israel's Supreme Court regarding its decisions and construction planning in the West Bank.  The Dutch government specified the reports goals.

https://www.jpost.com/printarticle.aspx?id=580304

More Sex Crimes Recorded in The Netherlands

Almost 9,000 people told the police that they had been the victim of a sex crime in 2018 compared with 8,400 in 2017. This results from figures published by the CBS, the Dutch Statistics Office. Some research suggests that only 4 in 10 people who suffer violent abuse or sex crimes, go to the police.

www.dutchnews.nl/news/2019/02/rise-in-reported-sex-crime-cbs/

Amsterdam: Ten Kilometers of Quay Walls in Bad Condition

An external researcher, Peter Cloo, has undertaken a report on the neglect of maintenance of bridges and quays in Amsterdam over the past decades.  He came to the conclusion that getting the maintenance of civil construction in the city back on par is a complex, major and extremely urgent task.  Six bridges are in such bad shape that immediate intervention is necessary.  Of the 200 kilometers of quay walls, at least 10 kilometers are in very poor condition with an increased risk of collapse.  The daily, Het Parool, wrote that 2 billion Euro may be required in the long-term to get the city’s infrastructure back into shape.

https://nltimes.nl/2019/02/07/amsterdam-tackle-neglected-bridges-quays

More than 100,000 Children Abused every Year

More than 100,000 children in the Netherlands are abused each year. Over 700,000 Dutch adults faced domestic violence at least once over the past five year. This results from a study by the scientific research and documentation center WODC. This is part of the ministry of justice and security.

https://nltimes.nl/2019/02/06/700000-dutch-domestic-violence-victims-5-years-report

Amsterdam Firemen have no Confidence in Management

A group of Amsterdam Firemen threatens actions in an anonymous letter. They say that they have no confidence in the management. The current commander Leen Schaap has even received death threats. He had been appointed to end the sexism and racism in the organization.

https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/brandweer-amsterdam-zegt-vertrouwen-in-leiding-op~a5a68c0e/

Advocate General Denies Dutch State Responsibility for Srebrenica Massacre

The Hague court has ruled that the Dutch state is partly accountable for the deaths of approximately 300 Muslim men after the fall of the Bosnian Muslim enclave, Srebrenica, in 1995.  The Advocate General denies in his recent advice to the Supreme Court that the U.N. Battalion, Dutchbat, is liable for the deaths of the Muslim men.

https://nltimes.nl/2019/02/01/dutch-state-unjustly-held-accountable-srebrenica-massacre-advocate-general-says