Thomas Jakob Peter Karremans was born on 29 December 1948 and is the former commander of Dutchbat troops in Srebrenica at the time of the Srebrenica genocide during the Bosnian War.
15 Facts About Thom Karremans
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In 1991, Thom Karremans had his first experience in Bosnia as liaison officer to the EC observation committee.
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Thom Karremans then became commander of an infantry battalion in Assen.
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In 1994 Thom 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.
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Thom Karremans failed to follow the orders of General Gobilliard who requested him in writing to defend the enclave.
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Thom Karremans requested NATO air support to defend the enclave, as the Dutch were driven further into the narrow enclave.
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Thom Karremans has said a Serb blockade had left his soldiers desperately short of food and fuel.
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Joris Voorhoeve 8.
Thom 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.
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At least one Dutchbat member, former Dutch army surgeon Ger Kremers, has stated that he and Thom Karremans watched the men being taken away by Serb forces.
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At a press conference in Zagreb, Thom Karremans stated that there were no "good guys and bad guys" in this conflict.
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Thom Karremans's statements got Dutch secretary of Defence Joris Voorhoeve into political trouble.
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Shortly after his return to The Netherlands Thom Karremans was promoted to full colonel, which caused controversy.
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Thom Karremans wrote of his experiences at Srebrenica in Een puzzel van de werkelijkheid.
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Thom Karremans describes problems and dilemmas for him and his men during six months in Bosnia and six days of war.
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Thom Karremans felt that he was forced by the Dutch politicians to fight with his hands behind his back.