Subject: NATO hit by "depleted conscience," says Yugoslav leader
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 10:00:11 PST
From: C-afp@... (AFP / Catherine Boitard)
Organization: Copyright 2001 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)
Newsgroups:
clari.world.europe.balkans,clari.world.europe.greece,clari.world.europe,biz.clar\
inet.sample
Followup-To: biz.clarinet.sample


ATHENS, Jan 16 (AFP) - Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica on
Tuesday lashed out at NATO's use of depleted uranium munitions in
the Balkans, accusing the alliance of suffering from a "depleted
conscience."
Speaking after holding talks with his Greek counterpart Costis
Stephanopoulos, Kostunica renewed his warnings of the danger of the
weapons, which are at the centre of a row over their possible
effects on NATO troops.
"One could say that those who used the famous depleted uranium
were suffering from a depleted conscience," Kostunica said.
Meanwhile Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, whose country is
traditionally sympathetic to Serbia, the dominant republic in
Yugoslavia, said he and Kostunica had agreed to set up a scientific
committee to investigate the problem.
He said the committee would be created by Balkan states,
including Greece, at an upcoming Balkan summit.
Greek leaders also said they had agreed to help Yugoslavia with
its post-war reconstruction.
Greece "wants to help rebuild war-damaged infrastructure,"
Stephanopoulos said after meeting Kostunica.
He noted the two countries' "shared traditions and interests."
Kostunica's visit came as NATO said it would probe reports of
cancer cases and other illnesses afflicting troops who served in the
Balkans on peace missions.
In a statement released in Brussels on Tuesday, the alliance
said it could find no link between the use of the weapons and cases
of cancer.
However it agreed to launch a health study to satisfy complaints
of combat veterans claiming to have contracted leukemia as a result
of exposure in the Balkans.
DU is heavier than conventional metals and is used because it
can pierce heavy armour and concrete bunkers more efficiently.
While it emits low-level radiation, dust given off from the
material on impact is thought to be particularly toxic if inhaled or
ingested.
More than a hundred peacekeepers from Greece who are serving in
Kosovo have meanwhile asked to be transferred home over NATO's use
of depleted uranium (DU).
Yugoslavia's traditionally strong ties with Greece had
deteriorated under Kostunica's predecessor Slobodan Milosevic, and
the visit was seen as a way of reviving them.
It was Kostunica's first official visit to Greece. In December,
he made a private visit to Mount Athos, a centre of the Orthodox
Christian Church in northeastern Greece.