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Letters to the Editor
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SIR— I want to express my deep indignation at the opposition of the United States to a proposed moratorium on the use of depleted uranium (DU) weapons which have reportedly caused damage to human health and environment.
So far, at least 17 soldiers from European armies have died from either cancer or leukemia since being deployed on peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Kosovo. It was reported that over 400 local residents have died from leukemia or various cancers in Bosnia.
More importantly, DU ammunition has reportedly caused serious environmental problems in Kosovo. A UN study in last November found that in Kosovo eight of 11 sites chosen for testing were slightly radioactive.
Eleven nations have ordered health checks on their troops and called for alliance-wide research. The European Commission said it was setting up a group of medical and scientific experts to report next month on the possible health risks from DU bombs. But the US insists there is no provable link between the two.
The US insistence on using DU in distant regions rather than its mainland betrays the selfishness and hypocrisy of this self-proclaimed “model of humanity”.
DU munitions should be banned even if there is minimal risk, and mounting international pressure to investigate the “Balkan Syndrome” should be supported. The US must recognize that it has created a public relations disaster and should therefore cast aside its egoism. The superpower will no longer be able to hold on to the label of “humanitarian intervention” while stealthily strewing low-radioactive material across future battlefields.
David Li, Beijing
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