- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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:
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- 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".
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- 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.
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- DU was also used in Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and
1995 and in Kosovo last year.
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- 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.
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- 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:
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- "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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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.
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- 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".
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- 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:
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- Its effects go beyond the battlefield;
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- Weapons should only be used during a conflict and their
effects must not have any effect after the conflict has finished;
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- Unacceptable, prolonged suffering is caused by the munitions;
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- The environment has been damaged by the weapons.
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- 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.
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- Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey Pravda.Ru Lisbon
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