The Dutch contribution to Western European Union (WEU) in Mostar (Task Force Mostar)
On 1 July 1994, the Dutch government decided to supply 15 Marechaussee personnel; the Netherlands also supplied the commander of the international WEU police force, Colonel J. Meijvogel. Together with several foreign colleagues, Meijvogel went to Mostar on 23 July 1994 to assess the situation.
His tasks were to set up the international WEU police force, make a start on the establishment of the UPFM and advise Koschnik in respect of public order. The international police force did not, however, have any executive powers at local level: it could only advise the Croat and Muslim officers in the performance of their duties. The WEU officers were also responsible for:
- protecting VIPs;
- guarding high-risk areas;
- conducting patrols and tracing missing persons.
Uniting police forces
The emphasis lay, however, on uniting the 2 local police forces. The Mostar police force had in the past consisted mainly of Serbs. The Muslim and Croat officers thus had little or no experience: they were in effect soldiers in police uniforms.
Slow start
In the initial stages, there were major problems actually getting the promised WEU officers to Mostar. In October 1994, only a 100 had arrived, 15 of them Dutch. 2 Dutch quartermasters had left the Netherlands at the beginning of September 1994. 11 colleagues followed on 20 September and the last 2 arrived in October and November. The international police force was increased in June 1995 to 152 officers from 10 countries.
Local police force not achieved
Colonel P.K.J. Lambrechtse took over the tasks from Meijvogel on 2 July 1995. The WEU’s efforts in Mostar bore little fruit: a truly united local police force never got off the ground. From 30 September to mid-December 1996, Colonel Lambrechtse was also the adviser to IFOR in respect of Mostar, and another 2 (Marechaussee personnel) showed UNIPTF the ropes.