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Coverup NATO Use Of DU In Yugoslavia -
First Deaths
Reported
ByTimothy Bancroft-Hinchey in Lisbon, for Pravda.Ru
http://english.pravda.ru/main/2000/12/22/1607.html12-22-00
As
new evidence comes to light over NATO's use of depleted
uranium (DU)
weapons, NATO continues to deny that there is any
danger to soldiers or
civilians living within the areas where DU was
used. This continued denial
raises suspicions of a massive, prolonged
and determined cover-up as more
and more firm proof is discovered
and NATO's answer is always the
same.
Depleted Uranium is cheap to obtain, since it is a residue from
the
nuclear power industry. The USA procured 130,000 tonnes of it
in
1991 for "national defence reserves" and has unfortunately been
busy
spreading it around the globe since then. Fired at
1,200
metres/second, DU weapons can destroy heavily armoured vehicles
or
reinforced concrete bunkers up to 3 metres underground.
The problem is
that radioactive particles are released into the ground,
the water supply
and the air and these particles do not simple
disappear. Radioactive
material takes many years to lose
concentration. While NATO affirms and
reaffirms that these DU
weapons are safe, the naked truth is that they are
not and here is the
evidence:
A secret report written by the British
Atomic Energy Authority in
1991, quoted by the newspaper "The Independent
on Sunday",
states that more than 40 tonnes of DU was left in Iraq and
Kuweit
during the Gulf War and that was enough "to potentially
cause
500,000 deaths".
Substantial numbers of US and British
soldiers who fought in the Gulf
War have since complained of "Gulf War
Syndrome" which NATO
sources dismiss as being a form of post-operational
stress syndrome.
However, on closer examination, the symptoms are identical
to those
of radiation sickness. Furthermore, the incidence of cancer
and
congenital malformation in babies has risen meteorically in the
Gulf
region since the war, as have also cases of leukaemia in children
and
still-born babies in Iraq.
DU was also used in
Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995
and in Kosovo last
year.
The Italian Defence Ministry has admitted two deaths among
Italian
soldiers stationed in the Balkans in DU areas, one through
leukaemia
and one through a tumour. However, the Italian media claim
that
there were four deaths, while there are 12 more cases of
leukaemia
or tumours among Italian soldiers stationed in areas where DU
was
used.
Dutch soldiers, who were in Kosovo until July of this
year, took
special care during all operations in which they were
involved,
wearing protective clothing. The Dutch Army Press Office issued
the
following statement:
"The soldiers always used special equipment
and for now there are
no cases of illness among them". This is tantamount
to an admission
that DU was used and that it is dangerous.
The
European Council Parliamentary Committee issued a statement
on Monday,
admitting that the NATO bombings in Kosovo caused
"dramatic" damage, which
will have a long-term effect on the health
and life-quality of future
generations.
In the report "Facts and Consequences of the use of DU in
NATO's
aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in
1999",
drawn up by the Yugoslav authorities, it is admitted that
the
contamination level reached 245,000 Becquerel/Kg. in areas where
DU
was used. This figure is 1,100 times higher than the maximum
contamination
level considered safe for the health.
Zeljko Lazic, attach? at the
Yugoslav Embassy in Lisbon, states that
he has information proving that
cases of illness, with symptoms
identical to those of Gulf War Syndrome
(Radiation Sickness) are
appearing among soldiers and civilians alike who
were in Kosovo in
the contaminated areas.
The Italian Observatory
responsible for civilians and soldiers
involved in Italian Armed Forces
operations, issued a document
which guarantees that Italian soldiers are
dying from leukaemia, due
to DU weapons.
This question is
particularly pertinent in Portugal, whose contingent in
Kosovo is stationed
in the Klina area, one of the main areas where
DU was used. The Portuguese
force is due to leave Kosovo soon.
Questioned when this will take place,
the Portuguese Defence
Ministry Press Officer, Captain Caldas, said that
Portugal was not
the only international force planning to pull out: "A
general withdrawal
of all the countries is being studied by
Kfor".
How much more evidence does NATO need to admit that it
has
caused a calamity with weapons that are illegal. DU violates
four
fundamental international rules on the use of weaponry:
Its
effects go beyond the battlefield;
Weapons should only be used during a
conflict and their effects must
not have any effect after the conflict has
finished;
Unacceptable, prolonged suffering is caused by the
munitions;
The environment has been damaged by the weapons.
It
is not enough to deny and to run away. It is necessary to speak out
against
the hypocritical tyranny of NATO as it travels the globe
looking for new
victims to use as showpieces for its weaponry so as
to create new markets
for its arms trade.
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey Pravda.Ru Lisbon
