Dear friends,
attached are two statements by Friends of the Earth Greece/ Nea Ecologia.
in solidarity
FoE Fitzroy
Statement on the war in the Balkans
Friends of the Earth Greece/ Nea Ecologia
Nea Ecologia-FoE Greece, Mavromichali 39, 10680 Athens, Greece
Tel. 3624323, Fax. 3619837, e-mail. [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Dear Friends, Dear Colleagues,
The followings, is Nea Ecologia�s declaration about the war in Balkans. We are
mailing it today all over the world. It�s a paper of principles. It�s a base
for the creation of an international NGO�s front against the war. This tragedy
could be easily transformed to a global disaster. Our declaration is not an
involvement into politics. It�s our answer to: politics, politicians, generals
and international opportunists. It�s our duty as ecologists and
environmentalists to say NO. Help us. Support our efforts to stop this madness.
PLEASE sign on our declaration and mail it to NGO�s, governments, and
parliaments. Mail it to UN, EU, to any national or international Authorities
you can. Collect any assistance possible for the war victims, the refugees,
through out FYR. Macedonia and Albania need food and blankets. People in New
Yugoslavia need blood, vaccines and medicines desperately. Both of them need
yours/our humanity.
Vangelis Stogiannis
___________________________________________________________________
DECLARATION
NATO�s missiles afflict the environment and humanity of Europe Those of us who
believed in the above values are now experiencing the return of the
"enlightened" West to its Dark Ages.
Western European governments and the political powers that support them
(socialists, greens etc.) are creating the largest loss (or better, void) of
democracy to date in their countries, going ahead with the worst abuse of power
- declaration of war - without asking anybody, even their Parliaments, despite
obvious contrary public opinion in their countries, thus betraying the ideals
with which they rose.
In the name of protecting the rights of the Kosovo minority from Serb
nationalist rule, the U.S.A. and NATO are striking with bombs and creating
refugees out of those very people they profess to be assisting, In this way
strengthening from the inside the very regime that they claim in every way that
they desire to weaken. For these to be replaced later on will mean sucking dry
all the country�s remaining natural resources. This is developing into the
logic of Pax Romana, i.e. peace brought about by the justice of the most
powerful, the peace of the grave, the destruction of human and cultural
diversity. Today, more than ever before, humanity needs to return to the ideals
of the ecological and peace movement, by establishing a universal, collective
and multi-focused security system based on "zero-options", non-violence and
respect for the uniqueness of nations and minorities, of which the E.U. will be
one of the focal points.
31/03/99
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21.4.99
Dear Friends,
In our last e-mail to the network, we told you of the necessity to monitor the
environmental war consequences. This, our first info file, contains confirmed
facts, as well as all sources. In two weeks time, we will e-mail you the
official results from the atmosphere analysis from northern Greece. Is there
any relative information from other FoE groups in the peninsula?
Regards,
Vangelis Stogiannis
Nea Ecologia/FoE Greece
Possible Environmental Consequences from the War
1) U-238 weapons in Yugoslavia
a) General Information
On Sunday 28.3.99, international news agencies transmitted that A-10
bombers started operating from Aviano Air Base. A-10 bombers� main gun uses
missiles from recycled Uraniam U-238. The A-10 Thunderbolt II is a Tankbuster
- ordinary pilots prefer to call it �Warthog�, because of its shape. The A-10
Thunderbolt II uses a seven-barrel GAU8 30 mm gun. This gun shoots 3.900
U-238 bullets per minute. This type of anti-tank Amo was first used during
the Gulf War. According to the U.S. 1994 AEPI Report, �During the Gulf War,
more than 940.000 of these 30 mm U-238 bullets have been used as well as 14.000
of the larger Caliber USAF during the bombing of Bosnia in 1995. Also used this
type of Amo.
The International Action Center (IAC) reports that NATO�s decision for
the use of A-10 in Kossovo is a danger for the entire population and
environment in the Balkans. IAC member John Katalinoto claimed (1.4.99) that
U-238 weapons used in Yugoslavia is a new dimension in NATO�s crime against the
Serbs and Kossovo Albanians.
In August 1996 the U.N. sub-committee for the protection of minorities
decided to call member states to stop the production and use of the U-238
weapons. The decision (1996) collected 15 affirmative votes, 8 blank votes
and 1 negative vote (U.S.A.).
The following year, 1997, this committee decided that the use of U-238
weapons violates the rules of humanity! The use of these weapons creates
serious consequences both to humans and the environment. U-238 consequences
may be deaths, serious diseases and genetic anomalies. An overdose of U-238
causes death, whereas lower doses cause cancer (E/CN/4sub.2/1997/27).
The same UN document notes the following about agricultural areas which
could be affected: �After U-238 weapons� use, land can never be used for
agriculture. The semi-life period of U-238 is 4.5 million years�. The same
document says that �The use, or even threat of the U-238 weapons� use is a
rupture of the humanitarian laws. It could also be considered as a torment
according to the international definition� (article 1 of the International
Treaty against torments).
b) Interesting information
War Crime According to CIT, A-10 thunderbolts are responsible for the
35% of the U-238 used during the Gulf War. Land crews and A-10 pilots must
know that they might be involved in a war crime which is not yet persecuted
Members of CIT were arrested in March 1998 when they tried to inspect Tusson
Air Base U-238 weapons� storage.
Stupidity According to the French General Pierre Mari Galaoua, �U-238
weapons use is a major military stupidity. Americans wanted to make their
weapons more effective and they didn�t think at all about consequences� (Le
Monde Diplomatique, April 1995).
Pollution and Veterans The British veterans� union gives the
information
that 16 British soldiers were affected from U-238 weapons during the Gulf
War. 90,000 U.S veterans from the Gulf War reports: suffer from a feeling of
fatigue, memory loss, pain, epilation, collapse of the immune system, cancers,
organ destruction and genetic anomalies (their children).
On 25.1.99 a veteran organisation, National Gulf War Resource Center,
reported that the composition of 600.000 soldiers in U-238 Amo�s Might be
responsible for the mysterious disease known as the �Gulf War Syndrome� (San
Francisco Examiner).
American sources:
a) International Action Center: Metal of dishonor (NY 1997)
b) Siegwart - Horst - Guenther : Uram Geschosse = Schwergeschaedigte
Soldaten missgebilidete neugeborene, sterbende kinder (Ahriman editions 1996)
c) Peter Phillips: Censored (Seven stories Press, New York 1998)
d) Dennis Bernstein: Gulf War Syndrome covered up (covert Action Magazine,
text 53 summer 1995)
e) The Nation Magazine (21.10.96, 19.7.97)
f) Australian �New Pawn� magazine Nov. 1995)
g) Monde Diplomatique (18.1.95, 25.1.95, April 1995)
h) Eleftherotypia newspaper (19/04/99).
2. War Pollution
According to NATO�s announcements, 2 big oil refineries and 11 oil storage
warehouses were bombed. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of oil have burned.
This means thousands of tonnes from toxics has been catapulted into the
atmosphere.
On April 15th, the petrochemical factory Hip Petrohemisa was bombed in
Panchevo.
The result was thousands of tones of extremely dangerous toxic (responsible for
the creation of cancers).
On April 18th, the fertiliser industry of Panchevo , one of the biggest of its
kind in Europe, was bombed. By good luck the bombs missed the factory�s
chemical storage warehouses. Inside this storage warehouse, among other
chemicals, there were tanks containing 20.000 tonnes of ammonia (NH3). If a
bomb had hit these tanks, the war would stop immediately and be replaced by a
living nightmare.
The petrochemical industrial area of Barch could be bombed in the next few
days. Another nightmare.
According to information from the peninsula oil flows to Danube River (at least
8 oil slicks). The Danube river�s waters are being used from Cozlodui�s
Nuclear energy station cooling-system in Bulgaria.
According to the University of Thessaloniki Atmosphere physics laboratory,
dioxins, PCBs, Furans and aromatic hydracarbons coming from Yugoslavia were
detected over Northern Greece by the laboratory�s sensors.
A cloud from small aluminium leaves is travelling over the Balkans (detected
over central Greece and Evia island). Bombers use this material to create
radar confusion. Sheep, goats and cows are eating these leaves on the grass.
According to Professor H. Zerefos, atmospheric physician, Yugoslavia and
Kossovo will be environmentally destroyed for generations. Sub-waters are
totally polluted by toxics. Toxics have entered the trophic chain The
consequences so far from toxics for the Serb and Kossovo Albanian populations
could be compared only with Chernobyl�s destruction over a an extended
time-period.
According to the Professor, �by bombing petrochemical industries, NATO pilots
are war criminals. From the other side, Mr. Milosevic must know that he
already destroyed the environment and population�s health for many generations
in Yugoslavia, Kossovo and the Peninsula�.
31/03/99
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