The Somali Piracy Records. VI

The Somali Piracy Records. VI

American Chronicle Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis 28 Jan 09 “…………………………The parents of Ukrainian sailors held hostage by Somali pirates on a ship carrying a vast horde of weapons have told AFP they want humanitarian groups to help the sailors suffering “horrible” conditions……………………. We only can hope that all people on MV FAINA are informed about the following!
The Italian Ministry of Defence has been prosecuted on 17th December 2008 by a court of law in Florence / Italy and was charged to pay over half a million Euro in damages to a soldier. The amount was defined by the court as compensation to be paid to an Italian soldier, who had been contaminated during Operation IBIS in Somalia with radioactive substances – uranium – and fell sick thereafter. The ruling clearly points out the given direct correlation between the inhaled uranium-dust and the development of a Hodgkin Lymphoma. The scientific background to the ruling, elaborated by a medico-legal expert appointed by the court, has been published together with the ruling (see: http://www.vittimeuranio.com).

Falco Accame, who founded an association to assist soldiers with ailments due to the handling of ammunition with depleted uranium, stated concerning the ruling: Since 1984 the Italian Ministry of Defence had been provided with scientific documents concerning the use of ammunition containing depleted uranium – as most likely also in other NATO countries. During the Gulf War the precautionary principle had not been implemented yet by the United States of America, but already 1993 during the Somalia operations it was standard practice for most armies. It was only in 1999 that this danger had been exposed in Italy publicly by KAFOR troops operating in the Balkan. The failure to implement the precautionary principle in context with the exposure to depleted uranium ammunition in Somalia therefore must be seen as a criminal act, the court ruled.

American Chronicle | January 2009 – The Somali Piracy Records. VI

January 29, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized