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Netherlands says statute of limitations bars 1947 Indonesia massacre claims

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A lawyer for the Dutch government on Monday claimed the statute of limitations bars one survivor and nine widows of victims of a 1947 massacre in Indonesia from seeking compensation. Dutch soldiers allegedly executed more than 400 people in the village of Rawagedeh during the Indonesian War of Independence. In a letter to the lawyer for the survivor and relatives, Liesbeth Zegveld, the government lawyer said the government was willing to meet with the group but that any claim would be barred. NRC Handelsblad has local coverage. The village has claimed that soldiers shot 431 people as they ran away or hid in a river during the massacre, though a 1969 Dutch investigation found 150 people were killed. The government has expressed regret over the incident but stopped short of apologizing. Last month a Dutch parliamentary delegation visited the village to talk to survivors of the massacre.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on November 24, 2008 (boomark / email).