Is Beatrix a Juliana?

Some 200 Bosnian Muslim refugees from Srebrenica are among 26,000 asylum seekers the Netherlands has announced it intends to deport to their home countries within the next three years, reports the Institute for War & Peace Reporting.

This has shocked many politicians, aid organisations, human rights activists and even some military personnel because Dutch troops were in charge of protecting the former UN Safe Area when Bosnian Serb forces overran it in July 1995. More than 7,000 Muslim men and boys were summarily executed in the days that followed. ...

The Dutch troops unknowingly ended up facilitating the selection of who would live or die.

"We cannot select them for a second time," an angered [former minister Jan] Pronk said, referring to the 200 Srebrenica survivors facing expulsion [who] have already exhausted every legal option available to them. ...

In what appeared to be a desperate last gesture, they made a dramatic appeal on March 11 to the Dutch queen, Beatrix, to prevent their extradition.

"Our request to the Queen is our last hope. She's the only one who can prevent this," said Muharem Mehmedovic, one of the asylum seekers facing expulsion. ...

However, royal intervention does not seem very likely. The queen only rarely goes against policies approved by a parliamentary majority.

Maybe she should ask herself "WWJD" - what would Juliana do?