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CADU NEWS 19
December 2004
Contents
Gulf War Syndrome
and DU: Boost from Lloyd Report
Time for the Truth
Action! Write to Your MP
European Social Forum
Inconsistency at MoD
Thank You Camille
International
Day of Action November 6th 2004
Bank Watch: How Clean is Your Bank?
Appeal
CADU Gigs Makes £300
Gulf
War Syndrome & the Lloyd Report
At last, the Government
has to admit that the effects of exposure to depleted uranium may be a
cause of Gulf War Syndrome. This is according to the findings of an inquiry
led by Lord Lloyd, a former appeal court judge, who found that damage
to the health of veterans of the 1991 Gulf War was indisputably caused
by their deployment in the Gulf and that the government should compensate
them accordingly.
On 19 November 2004, the Guardian reported that:'The Lloyd inquiry authenticates
the proper use of the term Gulf War Syndrome and endorses the studies
of the Research Advisory Committee in the US. Together these constitute
a total rejection of the psychiatric and stress theory.
There must be an immediate replication in the UK of the US studies that
showed extensive brain damage in veterans, using nuclear magnetic resonance,
and a study of motor neurone disease, which is up to three times higher
in US Gulf veterans than control groups.
Both reports also identify the need for research on damage from vaccines
and exposure to depleted uranium aerosols. Evidence from UK war pensions
tribunals identifies the vaccine-induced auto-immune damage to the pituitary
gland as accounting for osteoporosis and loss of libido in veterans; and
also chromosomal aberrations, consistent with exposure to DU aerosols,
in a veteran with three children, who all have various developmental disorders.'
In another report
on 18 November, the Guardian quoted Lord Lloyd as saying that 'veterans
were entitled to recognition 'that they are ill because they served in
the Gulf'…and 'the most likely explanation may be a combination of
more than one cause against a background of stress…' The Gulf had
been 'in any view a very toxic environment'.
The report has no legal status, and the Government has said it will consider
its response. A letter to Lord Lloyd from Ivor Caplin, junior defence
minister, quoted in the Guardian, states that 'I do not agree we need
to restore trust between the Ministry of Defence and the vast majority
of the 53,000 or so veterans deployed in the Gulf in 1990-91.'
But it is encouraging that an establishment figure such as Lord Lloyd
has recognised publicly the need for an inquiry into the use of DU. The
Government can no longer ignore this issue: it is not going to go away.
The Guardian adds: 'Lord Morris of Manchester, a long-time campaigner
for the veterans and the architect of the inquiry said Lord Lloyd's conclusions
had a relentless and compelling logic … Until now, if executive government
refused an independent inquiry, it was 'end of story'. The inquiry ends
that veto'.
Time
for the Truth
When the Doha ammunition dump
in Kuwait exploded in 1991, 100 US soldiers from the US 11th Armored Cavalry
Regiment were seriously injured and another 400 needed medical treatment.
A 50-strong contingent of Canadian sappers came to the aid of the panic-stricken
troopers and were praised for their heroism and professional conduct by
the American Commander. The leader, Major Fred Kaustinen, was commended
by General John DeChastelain for his outstanding personal leadership.
When the story of their bravery was covered up, people thought it was
to save the US embarrassment, as their soldiers had fled in terror, but
the reason was far more sinister.
In January 2001, it was discovered that the Doha dump had in fact contained
DU munitions. Canada's senior military preventive health officer, Colonel
Ken Scott, had only been advised by the Pentagon of the exposure to DU
in February 2000. He had not warned soldiers of the possible health risks
- "it would only increase their stress levels."
The newspaper, the Ottawa Citizen, managed to track down 18 of the 50
combat engineers who had been in Doha. 10 of them reported that they now
suffered from some form of immune deficiency-related ailments, while others
stated that their children had been born with "congenital anomalies".
No attempt has been made by the military to trace the remaining 32 DU
exposed veterans.
Yet the Doha explosion produced "the worst DU contamination site
on record", according to Professor Albrecht Schott, who explained
that the heat generated by the blast was beyond what the U.S. scientists
had believed possible, upwards of 2000°C.
Not only did the DU shells detonate, creating a radioactive aerosol, but
the DU armour on the U.S. tanks also ignited and burned. Professor Schott
says that the resultant "high temperature chemistry" created
"new" substances which are completely uncharted in modern science.
"These particular Canadian soldiers weren't just exposed to DU, they
were exposed to DU plus," said Schott.
Of course, the Iraqi civilian exposure to DU is of even less interest
to the military, so we are grateful to Dr. Schott for undertaking to examine
the effects of depleted uranium on the Iraqi population. Hit by over 30
000 DU rounds during the Gulf War, the civilians in Iraq are currently
suffering from a massive outbreak of leukaemia and congenital anomalies
among their children. Until now, the United States has prevented any initiatives
by the World Health Organization to conduct a full scientific survey of
DU related illnesses in Iraq. We understand that DU has been used in urban
environments in the latest Iraqi conflict. This strikes us as criminal.
Given the secrecy about Doha DU exposure, what chance is there of studies
into the effects on civilians of DU used?
Action!
Write to your MP
1. Ask
that s/he require our government demands that the US-led Coalition declares
where DU was used and how much.
2. Ask that our government
call for the World Health Organisation to investigate the health effects
of Depleted Uranium exposure on Iraqi civilians.
3. Arrange for your
group to see the film 'The Doctors, Depleted Uranium and the Dying Children',
a documentary film produced for German television by Freider Wagner and
Valentin Thurn, which exposes the use and impact of radioactive weapons
during the current war in Iraq.
The story is told by citizens of many nations and has contributions from
Dr Siegwart-Horst Günther, a former colleague of Albert Schweitzer,
and Ted Weyman from the Uranium Medical Research Center (USA). Copies
of the video will soon be available from the CADU office.
European
Social Forum
There was great interest in
'Depleted' Uranium weapons and CADU at the European Social Forum in London
in October. Here are CADU's Rae Street and Pat Sanchez carrying the banner
on the Sunday march through London. It was windy and cold but the good
spirits of the thousands of other European peace activists kept everyone
going.
Inconsistency
at MoD
The Ministry
of Defence must be aware that DU is dangerous to its own troops in Iraq,
because it is issuing a warning card about DU to all UK troops deployed
there. If the MoD is aware of the dangers, why is it still using DU? Why
are all troops not automatically given tests? And what about Iraqi citizens,
who are not being issued with cards or offered tests, and who live all
the time in an environment where DU has been extensively used?
Thank
You, Camille!
We are very sorry to announce
that our Development Worker, Camille Warren, has now left CADU.
Camille felt that it was time for a change of direction in her work. We
wish her well in whatever she takes up. Along with all her colleagues
in Manchester, we will miss her and we thank her for all the work she
has done to develop CADU and to help establish the International Coalition
for a Ban on Uranium Weapons.
International
Day of Action November 6th 2004
Once again, campaigners have
been active world wide to show their opposition to the use of DU and to
call for an international treaty to ban its use in weaponry. The date
chosen was significant: November 6th was the UN day for Prevention of
the Exploitation of the Environment during Wars and Armed Conflicts.
In Brussels activists from
the Coalition 'Stop Uranium Weapons!' held a protest action in front of
the Belgian Ministry of Defence during which they symbolically sealed
off the Ministry of Defence, as a zone contaminated with toxic and radioactive
depleted uranium. Their protest was supported by politicians from different
political parties as well as by a variety of peace and environmental groups.
A delegation from the Coalition delivered a petition, signed by thousands
of people, calling for a ban on DU weapons systems to the Ministry of
Defence. The same demand was also presented to the Belgian Foreign Office.
A spokesperson of the Belgian Coalition 'Stop Uranium Weapons!' stated,
"The UN-Sub-Commission on Human Rights has labelled 'conventional'
weapons that contain depleted uranium as illegal weaponry, because of
the indiscriminate nature of the weapons. Uranium weapons cannot make
a distinction between civilians and soldiers. Nevertheless, these weapons
have been widely used in the US led wars in Iraq, Yugoslavia and Afghanistan.
Belgium has still not ruled out the use of these weapons, and supports
NATO operations that use depleted uranium."
Many thousands of miles away, 16 activists from United Neighbors Weapons
Inspectors, BANDU and the Nuclear Resister newsletter, in Tucson, Arizona,
paid a surprise visit to the Davis-Monthan US Air Force Base, where pilots
are trained to fly the A-10s, responsible for firing most of the depleted
uranium now contaminating Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans.
The Pentagon has refused to identify where DU was used in Iraq, so the
activists called for whistle blowers with a variety of placards, such
as "Where's the Depleted Uranium?", "A-10 Pilots Know -
Please Tell Iraq", "Help Iraq Clean Up DU", "Depleted
Uranium - Used Once - Kills Forever".
Unfortunately their white lab coats did not fool the base security officer
at the gate and they were prevented from seeking out the pilots who could
tell the Iraqi people where to go to clean up their country. Their action
received good TV coverage, including a response from the Air Force declaring
that over 50 years of scientific study had shown o adverse health effects
from DU! (So why does the US government treat DU as a toxic hazard and
danger to public health?)
They were not the only US group
on the streets that day. Indeed a new group was launched in Vermont, the
'Network Opposed to Depleted Uranium Weapons'. The group denounced DU
weapons at a rally of the statewide "Bring The Troops Home Now!"
movement and followed it by a march to the Vermont State House. They are
committed to the struggle to ban the production, sale and use of weapons
containing depleted uranium through the use of popular education, community
organizing and non-violent direct action.
Manchester held a meeting just
before the day of action to hear at first hand about the effects of DU
on the children of Iraq from one Joanne Baker, a recently returned activist
and spent the day itself handing out leaflets and petitioning the shoppers
in Manchester town centre.
Littleborough Peace Group was
one of many peace groups in several areas who took to the streets with
petitions and leaflets.
Small is beautiful too!
Some actions have been smaller than others, but by no means less effective.
At CADU we liked the action taken by Joan Sheldon and her husband, both
in their eighties. They took international petitions to Epson High Street
and to day-centres, - proof that we can all do something, wherever we
are, however many or few there are of us, to help get rid of these immoral,
illegal weapons.
Bank
Watch: How Clean is Your Bank?
After success in Britain in
getting the Church of England to disinvest in arms companies, Belgian
activists are taking the campaign one step further. They are now turning
their attention to the banks.
They have produced two reports showing how the five most prominent international
bank groups in Belgium are using their clients' money to invest in the
arms industry. People were shocked to learn that their cash was going
into the production of some very controversial weapons, such as depleted
uranium munitions and cluster bombs.
This looks like a campaign that may have considerable scope for imitation
here. The only bank we know is not investing in the arms trade is the
Co-operative Bank. Why not check out your own bank, asking them to declare
whether they have interests in weapons manufacturers or traders? We would
be very happy to put the results of your findings on our website.
You can see the results of
the Belgian campaign at:
http://www.netwerk-vlaanderen.be/actie/dossierwapensengelsdef.pdf
Appeal
A friend of CADU,
Richard David ('Nibby') and a sufferer from working in the manufacturing
processes of 'depleted' uranium, is taking his case to the High Court
(see issue 18).
However, legal aid is not now available and he urgently needs extra funding
for the case. If you would like to help, please send a donation to his
support group by the end of January.
The NDDU Support Fund account is at:
Lloyds TSB
The NDDU Support Fund
Sort Code: 30 - 90 - 37
Account Number: 0144 5715
CADU
Gig Makes £300
More than 60 people came to
support CADU on 12th November. First on were Icons of Poundland, whose
singer had come all the way from Falmouth (12 hours on National Express)
, then Valerie (singer all the way from Glasgow) and then headlining were
relative locals Flamingo 50 who'd just popped over from Liverpool. All
bands and our lovely eccentric DJ Stef, Lisa who gave out hundreds of
flyers, Hazel on the door and Dom lending us his 'geetar' amp even though
he wasn't playing, gave their time for free.
The venue gave us a huge discount and a mysterious benefactor paid the
hire fee for us. Thanks to all who contributed. CADU needs every penny,
as we are trying to get an international treaty to ban depleted uranium
weapons, similar to the famous treaty which banned anti-personnel mines.
International lobbying doesn't come cheap!
Watch this space for further gigs and benefit nights
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