Monday, August 20, 2012

TV Program on Dutch War Crimes Hidden for Forty Years


In 1969, a TV interview was conducted with Dutch Captain Raymond Westerling, Commander of the Dutch Special Forces in the southern part of the Indonesian island Celebes (now Sulawesi) to fight the local militants. No Dutch TV station was willing to broadcast this program then. It has been broadcast now. Order on the island was restored after 3,500 Indonesians were murdered by Dutch troops. Many were executed without trial. The Dutch authorities intervened when soldiers reporting to Westerling executed prisoners. In the interview, Westerling said, “I am responsible and not the troops who were under my command. I take these deeds personally under my responsibility.” At the time, journalists who published about Dutch war crimes were threatened and had to be protected by the police.

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