The Age, 1 gennaio 2001
NATO accused over troop deaths
http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/01/01/FFXMT65LDHC.html
By CHRISTINA LAMB and MACER HALL
LONDON
Monday 1 January 2001

Thousands of European soldiers who served in NATO forces in Kosovo are to be tested for radiation after claims of serious medical problems caused by "Balkan war syndrome".

Portugal and Spain this week will join the Italians, French and Belgians in carrying out a systematic review of the health of the troops they sent to the region to discover whether they were exposed to dangerous levels of depleted uranium in ammunition used by American forces.

Portugal will also send a mission of military personnel and scientists from the National Atomic Institute to Kosovo to test radiation levels in areas where depleted uranium shells fell.

The decision follows a national outcry over the death from leukaemia of Hugo Paulino, a young Portuguese corporal, three weeks after returning from peacekeeping in Kosovo. The Defence Ministry refused to release his body to his family for an autopsy and radiation testing, citing "herpes of the brain" as the cause of death. "It was depleted uranium that killed him," insisted his father, Luis, in an interview on Portuguese television.

Two Italian soldiers have died of leukaemia since returning from Kosovo and a leaked military document published in the past week admitted that Italian soldiers were dying from leukaemia caused by depleted uranium.

Research has shown that exposure to depleted uranium causes health problems that may lead to cancer and neurological and immune system defects in addition to damage to the reproductive organs.

Politicians in Portugal and Italy have accused NATO of a cover-up and demanded that their governments should think more carefully before participating in future NATO operations.

The Portuguese announcement leaves Britain increasingly isolated as one of the few members of the NATO forces not to be carrying out any investigation. The Dutch Government is also planning an inquiry.

A spokesman for Britain's Ministry of Defence said it was monitoring the investigations by its NATO allies but had no plans to test its own soldiers. "We do take the welfare of our personnel very seriously and we'll keep an eye on the outcome of any further investigations into depleted uranium," she said.

She insisted, however, that there was no cause for concern. "Our medical advice has told us that depleted uranium is no more radioactive than, for example, a household smoke detector," she said.

"It does have a recognised toxicity but only if ingested into the digestive system, not if it merely comes into contact with the skin."

She said the Ministry of Defence had carried out a substantial amount of scientific research into the issue following the Gulf War, when weapons tipped or packed with depleted uranium were used extensively for the first time.

About 5000 former British servicemen who served in the Gulf War have reported symptoms of the various conditions referred to as Gulf War syndrome and about 3500 are claiming war pensions, according to figures from the Gulf Veterans Association. More than 500 have died of related illnesses.

The UN has a team in Kosovo carrying out its own investigation that will report in February.
- TELEGRAPH



Commento: si continua a morire a guerre già finite, un po' come accade con le mine antiuomo.