Can shareholders force a BV to pay dividends, or can the board refuse under Dutch law?

As often is the case, it depends..

In principle the majority is entitled to make a decision on this matter and you would need to argue that their continued decision to not pay out profits is in violation of the principle of reasonableness and fairness. This can for example be the case if they have been refusing dividends for a number of years now and/or the reservation of the profits does not serve any corporate interest if compared to your interests. 

If the company has only been profitable for two years, I don't know if this is already the case as judges are relatively reluctant to award such a claim. A potential strategy to then undertake instead is to at this point in time push for a dividend, in order to increase pressure and ensure that they pay out a dividend in the next years.

Feel free to book in a meeting so we can talk it over!