ATHENS NEWS
THURSDAY , 11 JANUARY 2001
No. 12848
Updated daily 1:00 p.m.
Greek time
Athens denies intention to withdraw forces from Kosovo
Government defends record of protecting Greek soldiers from DU risks
ALLAN WILSON

Sowing death: According to the Larissa newspaper 'Eleftheria', aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force's 111th fighter squadron rained thousands of depleted uranium-tipped shells onto a firing range between the villages of Krania Elassonas and Deskates in central Greece, while soldiers later gathered by hand those which did not explode. The newspaper reports widespread fears among the local population that their health may be at risk, after evidence came to light that 60 residents have died of cancer over the last three years.

AS POLITICAL fallout intensified yesterday over mounting fears of the possible exposure to radioactive contamination of Greek soldiers and auxiliary civilian personnel who served in Kosovo in 1999, Defence Minister Akis Tsochadzopoulos defended the government's record in providing protection to its peacekeeping forces in the area but categorically denied there was any intent to withdraw them.

In a sometimes acrimonious exchange with opposition MPs in parliament yesterday, Tsochadzopoulos insisted that "it is not the government's intention to withdraw the Greek military force from Kosovo, but should any problem arise the necessary measures will be taken", an obvious reference to the eventuality of a threat from radiation.

He went on to assure parliament that as soon as Greece was informed of the use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons in Yugoslavia it ordered checks for radioactivity. Meanwhile, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas insisted yesterday that tests of radiation levels in Kosovo had been "encouraging". He said that a team of Greek nuclear scientists, which included doctors from the army's health service, had tested air and earth samples, as well as men serving in Greek units in the area. All tests had been negative.

Questioned as to the government's responsibilities for the protection of its troops, Tsochadzopoulos told opposition MPs Iordanis Tzabtzis (New Democracy) and Greek Communist Party (KKE) MP Orestis Kolozof that "from the moment Nato informed us of the use of depleted uranium in its Yugoslavia campaign we ordered checks of radiation levels in the areas where our forces were serving, as well as in northern Greece, without detecting the slightest cause for concern".

Pointing out that Greece had only learned of the use of DU munitions in March 2000, when Nato responded to a relevant question from United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, Tsochadzopoulos conceded that the deaths of soldiers who had served in Kosovo were justifiably a cause of concern "and for that reason Greece joined Italy in demanding a ban on such weapons for the time being".

Earlier, Tsochadzopoulos met with Prime Minister Costas Simitis to review the agenda of today's session of the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA), expected to be dominated by discussion of the impact of the so-called Balkan Syndrome on government policy. The defence minister reportedly briefed Simitis on recent European Union-wide and Nato-level developments regarding radiation dangers in Kosovo, as well as on the ministry's proposals as to how to deal with such concerns.

The premier had earlier been briefed by Education Minister Petros Efthymiou on a demand by Greek students studying in Yugoslavia that they be transferred to Greek universities. Adding her voice to the students' request, KKE's Liana Kanelli raised the issue of their transfer during yesterday's session of parliament, although the likelihood of the government's eventual acquiescence to the request now appears minimal - judging by the gist of the minister's statements at a meeting he held with a student delegation at the education ministry on Tuesday evening. Meanwhile Environment Minister Costas Laliotis, in a spirited defence of Greece's role in the Kosovo conflict, stressed that "Greece was the only Nato member-state not to participate in the air strikes or in the land-based operations" during Nato's 78-day campaign. Greece had proved, said the minister, that its role in the Balkans is "for peace, for cooperation, for stability".

Interviewed by Flash radio, Laliotis pointed out that Greece had done all in its power to end the conflict once it had started, with then deputy environment minister Theodoros Koliopanos presenting Greece's case for a halt to the bombing before a UN conference in April 1999.

In a statement issued yesterday, Merchant Marine Minister Christos Papoutsis conceded that the so-called Balkan Syndrome had provoked "justified concern" throughout the European Union, and said the issue should be confronted at the highest levels of the EU.

" It is an extremely serious matter which has got the entire EU worried," he said, adding that "Europe should take steps to document the evidence of the effects of using depleted uranium weapons in Bosnia and Kosovo". Should a threat to public health in the areas be proven, said Papoutsis, "the EU will have to take urgent steps for the protection of the local population". And he added: "In the meantime, all use of depleted uranium munitions should be suspended at once."

ATHENS NEWS , 11/01/2001 , page: A04