''The Cover-up General'' is a non-fiction thriller by Dutch author Edwin F. Giltay, first published in 2014. The book describes an espionage scandal he witnessed first-hand, within
military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from ...
of the
Armed forces of the Netherlands
The Netherlands Armed Forces ( nl, Nederlandse krijgsmacht) are the military services of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The core of the armed forces consists of the four service branches: the Royal Netherlands Navy (), the Royal Netherlands A ...
.
[
][
]
At the root of it all was the infamous
film roll of Srebrenica depicting
war crimes, which was misdeveloped by a navy photo laboratory.
[
]
Publication prohibited
A year after its publication, a former secret service agent filed a lawsuit against the author. She claimed she was depicted unjustly in the publication and demanded it to be censored.
[
]
Subsequently, the book was
banned
A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...
by a
district court.
[
]
Giltay was also prohibited to talk about the contents of ''The Cover-up General'' in public.
Book ban overturned
In 2016 however, the book ban was overturned by the
Court of Appeal in The Hague.
[
]
It ruled the accuracy of the publication is not in doubt and affirmed its importance for the public debate on the
Srebrenica drama.
The Dutch Ministry of Defence, which had expressed doubts regarding the book’s contents, refrained from commenting on the verdict.
[
]
Extended edition
An extended edition of ''The Cover-up General'' was published later that same year.
[
]
In their lawsuit against the Netherlands, the
Mothers of Srebrenica
The Mothers of Srebrenica ( / ), also known as the Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Žepa ( / ), is an activist and lobbying group based in the Netherlands that represents 6,000 survivors of the siege of Srebrenica during the Yugosl ...
use the book as supporting evidence.
[
]
It backs their notion of the Dutch military obscuring proof regarding the
1995 genocide,
whose aftermath still leaves questions unanswered.
Press freedom
The banning of ''The Cover-up General'' was rather unique, as books are hardly ever prohibited in The Netherlands.
[
]
This restriction on freedom of the press was condemned by journalists and politicians alike.
[
]
Despite extensive media coverage and
Parliamentary questions,
[
]
many elements raised in the book have yet to be addressed.
References
External linksThe Cover-up General — Edwin F. Giltay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cover-up General, The
Books about military history
Dutch non-fiction books
2014 non-fiction books
Censored books
Dutch books
Srebrenica massacre