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Dutch government rocked by parliamentary report into 1992 El Al air crash
By Peter Reydt
27 April 1999
A Dutch parliamentary investigation into the government's handling of the
1992 El Al crash in Amsterdam, has led to calls for the resignation of Prime
Minister Wim Kok and two of his deputies. A discussion on the 2,000-page
report, which accuses the Labour Party-led coalition of bungling and
misleading parliament over the crash, is scheduled for next month when it
will be decided what ministers, if any, should resign.
The Israeli El Al cargo plane crashed into a high-rise apartment complex in
the poor district of Bijlmer on October 4, 1992, shortly after takeoff from
Schipol Airport. The Boeing 747 ploughed a 150-foot hole through the
11-storey building, killing four crew members and at least 39 people. The
exact death toll is still unknown since the apartment complex contained many
unregistered immigrants.
The government was forced to convene a cross-party parliamentary inquiry
into the crash six months ago, in response to growing public concern at the
unprecedented number of chronic health complaints recorded following the
incident. Some 300 people--mainly rescue workers involved at the crash scene
and local residents--have complained of health problems, including
neurological complaints, severe headaches and nausea.
Questions had already been raised regarding the cargo the plane was carrying
on its route from the United States to Israel. Residents reported
"mysterious men in white suits", going through the wreckage. Concerns that
they were Mossad agents (Israeli secret service) were heightened by the fact
that the plane's "black box" flight recorder has never been recovered, and
El Al would not reveal the cargo manifest providing details of what was on
board.
It was also reported that some 282 kilograms of depleted uranium had been
used as ballast in the plane's wings--only 152 kg of which was recovered.
Finally, the Israeli government admitted last year that the jet had been
carrying 190 litres of the chemical Dimethyl Methylphosphonate (DMPP), used
in the production of Sarin, the deadly nerve gas invented by Nazi scientists
in the 1930s. Twenty times as lethal as cyanide, Sarin kills by effectively
crippling the nervous system. Just a tiny amount can kill scores of people.
The report found that Deputy Prime Minister Annemarie Jorritsma and Health
Minister Els Borst had failed in their duty to protect public health and
keep parliament informed of the dangers. It accused Jorritsma, who was
transport minister from 1994 to 1998, of making only half-hearted attempts
to recover freight documents and misinforming parliament about disparities
in the papers. It also said that it was "incomprehensible" that the Bijlmer
disaster and its aftermath were never discussed at cabinet level, and that
Kok's failure to raise the issue "was not in keeping with his position".
However, the parliamentary committee claims that it found no evidence of a
government attempt to conceal details of the cargo from the public. It
further claims, "The government paid too little attention to public worries,
even those that were based on misconceptions" (emphasis added).
The two ministers had earlier said they would resign if the report found
them guilty of wrongdoing. However, they have subsequently refused to honour
this pledge.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, Dutch officials claimed the plane
was transporting flowers and perfume. Having been forced to reveal the
plane's cargo, both the Dutch and Israeli governments claimed that the
chemicals on board were "non-toxic".
The parliamentary committee report--which interviewed 80 witnesses and
professional experts--maintains this fiction, describing the plane's cargo
as "mundane". Whilst it acknowledges a "direct link" between the crash and
subsequent health problems in the area, this is largely confined to the high
incident of psychological problems reported, particularly of Post-traumatic
Stress Disorder.
The committee notes that the wreckage burnt for one hour and smouldered for
several hours more, during which toxic substances were formed. Those
identified include gases and smoke particles such as sulphur dioxide, carbon
dioxide, hydrochloric acid, chrome, nickel, asbestos and dioxins. But it
claims that "no chronic health problems" are to be expected for large
numbers of people.
The committee notes that there have been 13 "auto-immune" cases reported by
those in contact with the wreckage, and a further 16 cases have a "possible
link". However, it concludes that it is "unlikely" that large numbers would
have suffered from uranium poisoning, but "wishes to state that it cannot be
ruled out that under specific circumstances some individuals inhaled uranium
oxide and were tainted".
The report's acceptance that depleted uranium was used as ballast is almost
fantastical. This substance has been used in the cruise missiles rained down
on both Iraq and Serbia over the last period. Upon impact, the missiles
release radioactive uranium oxide that is inhaled by people and can pollute
the soil and food chain. Its use has been linked to the high incidence of
cancer suffered by the Iraqi people following the US-led Desert Storm
operation in 1991 and to Gulf War syndrome affecting many veterans.
Even more damaging politically is the revelation that the plane's cargo
included DMPP. This chemical is a crucial component of the Sarin nerve gas,
used by the Aum Shinri Kyo cult in an attack on the Tokyo underground system
that killed six passengers and injured more than 3,000.
The Israeli government claim that it had ordered the compound for "testing
filters, including protective filters", i.e., gas masks. But the El Al cargo
was destined for the "Israeli Institute for Biological Research" near Tel
Aviv. In September 1998 the Times of London described the facility as a
"shadowy biological institute.... Believed by many foreign diplomats to be
one of the most advanced germ warfare institutions in the Middle East." One
month later a report by Times journalist Uzi Mahnaimi alleged that Israeli
assault aircraft crews had been trained to fit an "active chemical or
biological weapon within minutes of receiving the command to attack. The
weapons are manufactured at the Institute for Biological Research in a
suburb of Nes Ziona."
The same month, a report by the Independent on Sunday recorded the views of
Jan Medema, head of a team of chemical weapons inspectors at the Dutch
Defence Research Institute in The Hague. Medema expressed concern that the
volume of DMMP recorded on the El Al jet was too large for routine
experiments. Three of the four components crucial for making up Sarin (the
two others are isopropanol and hydrogen fluoride) were on board, in
quantities sufficient to generate more than a quarter of a tonne of the
deadly nerve gas.
Although Israel has consistently denied that it has any chemical weapon or
nuclear capabilities, it has previously kidnapped and imprisoned Mordecai
Vanunu, a former Israeli technician, for 18 years after he began to leak
details of Israel's nuclear weapons programme.
The supplier of the DMPP was Solkatronic Chemicals in the US. Any possible
exposure of America having supplied Israel with chemical weapons would have
serious consequences, particularly as the Iraqi government's use of such
weapons was employed for propaganda purposes to justify the US launching the
Gulf War. Evidence of collaboration with a US/Israeli chemical weapons
programme could also undermine the Dutch government at a time when it is
supporting the bombing campaign against Serbia. For this reason the
parliamentary discussion of the already neutered report will not take place
for another month, in the hope that this will allow time for the situation
to be defused.
See Also:
Depleted Uranium in NATO missiles threatens generations to come
[13 April 1999]
Social democrats win Dutch election
[9 May 1998]
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