UN WIRE
An Independent News Briefing about the United Nations

Tuesday, 23 January, 2001 - http://www.unfoundation.org
Today's UN WIRE Stories
ENVIRONMENT
DEPLETED URANIUM: Germany Plays Down US Dispute

Germany yesterday played down its dispute with the United States over plutonium traces in remnants of depleted uranium shells in Kosovo, and European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday said they had not seriously touched on the issue
(Reuters/ABCNews.com, 22 Jan).

Germany accused the United States of failing to warn European allies about possible plutonium contamination from munitions, and German Defense Minister Rudolf Scharping last week demanded the United States come forward with all information pertaining to depleted uranium munitions and initiated an inquiry into whether the weapons contain plutonium (UN Wire, 22 Jan).

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said yesterday the apparent US failure to alert allies to the possibility depleted uranium munitions could be contaminated with traces of the more radioactive substances "is not the point."

Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, who has assumed the six-month EU presidency for Sweden, said the ministers discussed the depleted uranium issue over lunch "but we never touched on" the issue of plutonium. The EU ministers, eager to avoid any conflicts with the new US administration under President George W. Bush, emphasized that the depleted uranium issue is a concern mainly for NATO and the military, which will be closely examined in the coming weeks.

Fischer said Europe is seeking "full clarification of the facts" about the munitions to alleviate public health concerns, but denied that Scharping had criticized the United States and said there is no German-American conflict over Washington's information policy. "Mr. Scharping did not berate the United States," Fisher said
(Reuters/ABCNews.com).

Some Greek Troops Leave Kosovo

Meanwhile, 80 Greek troops of the Kosovo peacekeeping force returned home yesterday because of the health scare over depleted uranium, while another 462 troops who have applied for repatriation -- approximately one-third of the Greek contingent -- will return home in the next month.

The Greek Defense Ministry says it will try to replace them, but gave no guarantees. The government, which previously had said the troops should remain in Kosovo unless a NATO order was given, has said it will not act against any who decided to go home (Paul Anast, London Telegraph, 23 Jan). Last week, more than one-fourth of Greek military troops in Kosovo were asking to go home because of the alleged risk of cancer (UN Wire, 16 Jan).

Editorial & Commentary

A Tokyo Asahi Shimbun editorial says "it seems unwise to tolerate depleted uranium munitions," regardless of whether a direct causal link is found between the munitions and cases of cancer among peacekeepers. "It is possible to make anti-tank munitions that do not use depleted uranium," the editorial says. "Would it not, therefore, be possible for NATO to choose a safer path by totally banning the use of depleted uranium munitions?"

The editorial goes on to advocate a complete investigation of the medical perspective of the issue, with the cooperation of UN agencies, as well as a definite moratorium if a causal relationship is found. The editorial also criticizes the United States for continuing to uphold the importance of depleted uranium munitions.

"We wonder whether it is necessary for the United States, which possesses overwhelmingly powerful armed forces, to rely on weapons that create anxiety about the after-effects among its returned servicemen and which leave radioactivity in the environment where they are used," the editorial says (Tokyo Asahi Shimbun, 22 Jan).



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