Dutch officials have rejected a retired United States general's claim that its forces failed to prevent the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia in 1995 partly because of its openly gay soldiers.
A defence ministry spokesperson has dismissed as nonsense the remarks by John Sheehan, a former Nato commander, who made them at a US Senate hearing on allowing gay people to serve openly in the American military.
General Sheehan said the former chief of staff of the Dutch army had told him that the presence of openly gay soldiers in the Dutch peacekeeping force were seen as "part of the problem" that contributed to the fall of Srebrenica.
The general argued that the "socialisation" of European military forces since the end of the Cold War had led to "a focus on peacekeeping operations because they did not believe the Germans were going to attack again or the Soviets were coming back".
Srebrenica was a UN safe haven under the protection of Dutch peacekeepers when, in 1995, Bosnian Serb forces overran the town, killing some 8000 Muslim men and boys.
Massacre was 'extensively investigated'
Dutch defence ministry spokesperson Roger van de Wetering says it's astonishing that a man of General Sheehan's stature could utter such complete nonsense.
"The Srebrenica massacre and the involvement of UN soldiers was extensively investigated by the Netherlands, international organisations and the United Nations," Mr van de Wetering says.
"Never was there in any way concluded that the sexual orientation of soldiers played a role."
In the US Senate itself, Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told General Sheehan he was "totally off-target".
Several countries - including Britain, Canada, Australia and Israel - allow openly gay people to serve in their armed forces.
