SITUATION IN KOSOVO: PORTUGAL PRIME MINISTER GURERRES TAKES PERSONAL CONTROL IN “WORRYING, DIFFICULT” TIMES

Prime Minister Antonio Guterres (Socialist Party) has taken personal control of the crisis provoked by Depleted Uranium weapons in Kosovo, after one Portuguese soldier has died, three are receiving treatment and now a further case arises. This new case is that of a policeman who has served in the Balkans and presents the same symptoms as the soldiers. He declared that when he arrived in Bosnia, all the Portuguese police contingent was warned “Do not try to have children for the next two years because there could be malformations”. Antonio Abreu, the Portuguese Communist Party candidate for the Portuguese Presidential Elections, to be held next Sunday, declared: “Enough of hypocrisy! This was foreseeable in 1991. We cannot continue to wage chemical warfare because there are no humanitarian conditions to justify actions of this type”. He declared that DU weapons are used to destroy nuclear power stations and chemical weapons factories, then the gases released into the atmosphere contaminate the environment. He added that this type of action is carried out by the Americans, who afterwards place Europeans in the worst affected areas. A document which was circulated among the German troops in Kosovo provides an insight into how much of a cover-up NATO has made of this case. The German soldiers were told to not go anywhere near areas where DU weapons had been used “except to save lives or to take measures indispensable for the fulfilment of the mission”. The document instructed the soldiers not to touch shells or fragments suspected of being the result of the use of DU weapons. “One must depart from the principle that not only the interior but also the area around the vehicle destroyed by DU is contaminated. Ingestion of water or food in the contaminated area also constitute long-term dangers”. Pekka Haavisto, leader of the UNO mission to test for dangers to the health in Kosovo provoked by NATO’s use of DU weapons, states that “Adults who have gathered war souvenirs and have taken them home have a potential source of radioactivity”. Pravda.Ru sent out the warning from day one: NATO conducted an illegal campaign in Kosovo and its use of Depleted Uranium weapons in the Gulf and in the Balkans was illegal and dangerous to public health, being against internationally recognised treaties regarding rules of engagement. Let NATO never again raise its voice on human rights issues, on battle tactics or on any military campaign anywhere, for it will certainly be accused of hypocrisy…after its leaders are tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey Pravda.Ru Lisbon