Dear friends,

The Belgian Coalition for Abolition of Depleted Uranium Weapons invites you to give your help, your suggestions and, if possible, to participate to a big international debate in Brussels, on the 1st of March. Please fin below:

1. Announcement of the meeting:
2. Calendar of the three days activities in Brussels
3. Call for your help and suggestions
4. Contacts.
5. Platform of the Coalition

University of Brussels, 1 & 2 of March 2001
URANIUM : The victims speak

Secretariat : Simba Timmerman 32 (0)479 / 66.39.92.

We invite you for this exceptional meeting in Brussels.

Nato and the Western armies tried long to hide the truth about Depleted Uranium and to isolate the victims. It is now time to bring all these victims together, and demand justice.

In the very capital of the Nato, Brussels, an exceptional debate will give the word to :

Contaminated  Soldiers  and  Civilians:

BELGIUM : Guido FLEURACKERS, Marc DE CEULAER (SFLP trade union)
FRANCE : Hervé DESPLAT (founder of the Victims Association Avigolfe)
GREAT BRITAIN : Ray BRISTOW (National Gulf Veterans and Families)
NETHERLANDS: Louis BERTHOLET (Bijlmeer)
BOSNIA : Zelko SAMARDZIC (Sarajevo)
SPAIN : Patricia RODRIGUEZ (her friend soldier died after Kosovo)
IRAQ : Ibrahim. J. MOHAMMED

Experts and doctors:

BOSNIA : Dr Borisa STAROVIC, Dr Dragutin ILIC
YUGOSLAVIA : Dr Snezana PAVLOVIC, nuclear physicist
IRAQ : Dr Huda S. Ammash
BELGIUM : Pierre PIERART, physicist, Luc MAMPAEY (GRIP)
GERMANY: Gina MERTENS, physicist
ITALY : Angelo BARACCA, Fausto SCHIAVETTO
UKRAINE : Galina OLEYNIKOVA (Environnement Center Bakhat)

Journalists :

FRANCE : Christine ABDELKRIM-DELANNE (La Sale Guerre propre)
BELGIUM : Marleen TEUGELS (Knack), Frédéric LOORE (Uranium appauvri - La Guerre invisible
USA : Paddy COLLIGAN (The Metal of Dishonour)

Brussels University, salle Janson, avenue Roosevelt,
1st of March, 19.00
 (trams & bus 23, 71 90, 94)

Info : 32 (0)2. 50 40 142.

2. Full program of three days
We propose to those who can to stay a few days more in Brussels.  It seems to us very important to organize a high level activity in the capital of Natgo, at this present time. Also We can provide you accomodation and transport in Belgium, and also contacts with the press.

This is our full program:
Tuesday 27  evening or Wednesday 28 morning: arrival
Wednesday 28 : interviews, contacts with the press, contacts (following your wishes) with Belgian medical institutions, experts and activists.
Thursday 1 (9 - 17) academic symposium in Brussels (Place will follow)
Thursday evening : Great public debate
Friday 2 : non public exchange of views between victims, associations and activists, measures for future cooperation
Friday 2 evening or Saturday 3: departure.

3. How can you help?
1° Making suggestions to complete (very soon) this program)
2° Participating
3° Helping for the cost: preparing the possibility of some small donations to cover the costs of some trips and some material expenses. Which are limited since every is benevolent but…

4. Contacts
The representatives of the Coalition are:
- Marcel Poznansky          Abolition.ua@caramail.com
poznanski@caramail.com
- Pierre Piérart (Association of Doctors against Nuclear War):
mail:     pierre.pierart@pophost.eunet.be

Michel Collon is helping for the preparation of these three days:
michel.collon@skynet.be

E-mails can be sent, for the next days, to these mail-address.
Afterwards, a specific secretariat will come.

5. Our platform:
COALITION FOR ABOLITION OF DEPLETED URANIUM WEAPONS

Depleted Uranium Weapons (D.U.) have been used during the wars in the Gulf, in Bosnia, in Yugoslavia by the Americans and the British or by Nato. D.U. weapons have been tested secretly since dozens of years in many army manoeuvres in the US, Great-Britain, France, Germany, Central America and Pacific. More than forty countries possess them.

 D.U. is producing alpha radiations. When inhaled in the form of small particles, it becomes a factor of cancer and the risk is aggravated by different pollutions (tobacco, motor gas, industrial pollutions…)

 The general secretary of the Nato, George Robertson, supported by most of the national authorities of the member countries, is maintaining a complement incoherent position to exonerate the political and military leaders.

 These weapons, chemical, radiological and non-discriminatory are polluting many places in the world. They are subject to the rule of law of armed conflicts (Declarations of St Petersburg 1868, The Hague 1899, Protocol of Geneva 1925, Declaration of the Conference in Paris 1989, U.N. Conventions concerning environment 1976)

 In front of aggressions, often irreparable, against the health of the populations and the soldiers in Koweït, Irak, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia, it his now most necessary to form a coalition to demand abolition of the D.U. weapons.

  The "Coalition for Abolition of Depleted Uranium Weapons" invites associations and political groups to participate or support this campaign. We are going to prepare with you a program of action to achieve that goal.

Informations:
Pierre Piérart  pierre.pierart@umh.ac.be    Tél./fax: +32 2 376 10 93
Marcel Poznanski  poznanski@caramail.com  tél 32 2 511 63 10
gsm 32 476 85 56 52

Editeur responsable: Marc Lemaire, rue de la Ferme 118/4 BXL 1210,
bs603416@skynet.be gsm 32 475 80 31 88  Abolition.ua@caramail.com