Oggi 17 aprile 2000 ricorre il primo anniversario della morte di
MILICA RAKIC
9/2/1996 - 17/4/1999
uccisa nella propria casa presso l'aereoporto di Batajnica (RFJ).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Su Milica Rakic e gli altri crimini della NATO segnaliamo:
* THE WHITE BOOK OF NATO WAR CRIMES
www.mfa.gov.yu/bela/index.htm (book 1)
www.mfa.gov.yu/bela2/NATO_agr.htm (book 2)
http://www.smip.sv.gov.yu/
* Milica Rakic, una vittima dei bombardamenti umanitari
http://www.publica.cz/svedectvi.htm
* Who is next?
http://www.net.yu/~stopwar
* Overview of the collateral damage in Yugoslavia
http://news.beograd.com/collateral_damages/index.html
* The InterMedia Center
http://www.imcnews.com/
* Serbian Unity Congress
http://www.suc.ogr/exhibitions/destruction/
* Truth in the Media
http://www.truthinmedia.org/Kosovo/War/PhotoAlbum/photos-war-index.html
* Serbia Info
http://www.serbia-info.com/news/1999-06/14/12573.html
http://www.serbia-info.com/news/1999-08/01/13670.html
* Radio Televizija Srbije
http://www.rts.co.yu/fotografije/mapa.htm
* Socijalisticka Partija Srbije
http://www.sps.org.yu/aktuelno/foto.html
---
EFFETTI AMBIENTALI E SULLA SALUTE DEI BOMBARDAMENTI N.A.T.O.
Subject: [yugoslaviainfo] Chemical and Nuclear Warfare against
Yugoslavia
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 16:08:57 +0200
From: Darka <peter.darka@...>
To: Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. È necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.
On the 26th of March, 2000 I attended the conference in Brussels,
entitled: 'Security, only a
military question?' (Veiligheid, een kwestie van militairen?) It was
organized by the Forum for
Peace Initiatives (Forum voor Vredesactie, e-mail
forum@...). One of the
paricipants was Yugoslav expert for occupational toxicology, Prof. Dr
Petar Bulat. He presented
first hand information on the measurements they performed and possible
impact on the last year
bombing in Yugoslavia, on the environment and health. I am posting the
summary of his
presentation in order to inform the public what could be the long term
effects on the health
conditions of the peoples in Yugoslavia and Balkan region. I also want
to address the legal
experts who are collecting the data to support their charges against
NATO at the Tribunal (ICTY)
in the Hague.
Darka
THE ENVIROMENTAL AND HEALTH EFFECTS OF BOMBING IN YUGOSLAVIA
Petar Bulat, Medical Faculty, University of Belgrade
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)
-Formed in 1992 from Serbia and Montenegro (republics of Former
Yugoslavia0
-Located in the center of Balkan Peninsula
-It has 102.173 square km
-~10.500.000 inhabitants
The war against Yugoslavia
-Starts on March 24;
-Ended on June 10
-1200 airplanes engaged;
-2300 air strikes;
-22.000 tons (22.000.000 kg) of explosives were in 20.000 'smart' and
5000 'dumb' bombs
-400 Tomahawk missiles and 130 'air-ground' missiles
Objects damaged or comletely destroyed
-25.000 civilian buildings
-78 industrial facilities
-42 Energetical objects
-64 Telecommunication objects
-66 Bridges
-32 Agricutural facilities
-23 Railroads or railway stations
-8 Airports
The most important targets regarding environmental damage
-Chemical complex Pancevo (Petrochemical plant. Oil rafinery and
Fertilizer plant)
-Oil rafinery Novi Sad
-Automobile industry 'Zastava' Kragujevac
-Copper industry Bor
The environmental consequences of bombing the Petrochemical complex in
Pancevo
1. Ethylene dichloride (EDC)
-2100 tons of EDC released in environment;
-EDC considered toxic for: liver, kidney, heart, respiratory and nervous
system;
-International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) categorized EDC as
possible human
carcinogen (IARC category 2B)
2. vinyl chloride (VC)
Burning and rellesing in the atmosphere 440 tons of VC
-phosgene (up to 10X permissible level)
-VC (up to 1000X permissible level)
-VC is considered toxic for: liver kidney. heart, respiratory,
reproductive and nervous system
-IARC categorized VC as human cancirogen (category 1)
3. Mercury
-8000 kg of mercury released in soil and ground waters.
Mercury is considered toxic for: respiratory and nervous system, blood,
kidney and liver
The environmental consequences of bombing the Fertilizer plant in
Pancevo
-200 tons of ammonia were released
-ammonia in atmophsere (2-3X permissible level)
-Caused mild to moderate signs of irritation of respiratory system in
Pancevo inhabitants)
The enviromental consequences of bombing the oil refineries in Pancevo
and Novi Sad
In Novi sad 73.569 tons crude oil and derivatives destroyed:
-10 % were released in soil
-Around 90 % were burned.
In Pancevo 61.800 tons crude oil and derivatives destroyed:
-The most were burned and some were relesed in soil.
Burning the oil and derivatives causes a huge release in atmophsere of:
-sulfur dioxide,
-nitrogen oxides (ozone delpleting agent)
-tar
-carbon monoxide,
benzo[a]pyrene, etc.
Novi Sad mesurements show:
-sulfur dioxide in atmosphere 2X permissible level
-carbon monoxide 3.5-6X permissible level
-nirtogen oxides 4-12 X permissible level
-increased concentrations of volatile hydrocarbons, benzene and
polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbones (PAHs) in ground
waters
-The PAHs are mainly considered as carcinogenic, mutagenic and
teratogenic substances
-IARC categorized benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[b]fluoroanthene as probable
human carcinogens
(IARC Category 2A)
The enviromental consequences of damages in the automobile industry
"Zastava'-Kragujevac
-2 transformers leaked 1428 litres of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
based oils
-The 250 litres of PCB oil were captured;
- ~300 litres of PCB oil were burned and caused incresed levels of
dioxins and furanes.
- ~850-900 litres of PCB oil released in soil and trough the ground
waters reached Lepenica river
(source of water supply for near by villages).
According to UNEP Balkan Task Force measurements, the PCB levels
concentrations in Lepenica
were 40 X permissible levels.
The enviromental consequences of damages in the copper industry in Bor
-At least 20-60 workers engaged in removing parts of damaged capacitors
and transformers.
-11 of them hospitalized in the Institute of Occupational Health. Among
them, 9 have passed
chromosomal aberrations
testing:
-In 2 serious chromosomal aberrations
-In 2 mild abberations were noted.
The health effects of PCBs
-PCBs are considered toxic substances for: liver, skin, reproductive,
immune and nervous system
-IARC categorized PCBs probable human carcinogen (IARC Category 2A)
The use of deplete uranium contaiing bombs
-Used at least at 8 locations in Yugoslavia:
-7 are in Serbia
-1 in Montenegro
-No precise data on its
usage in Kosovo (at least at 70 locations)
Conclusions
1. Not enough data on the enviromental and health effects of the
bombing in Yugoslavia
2. According to available data, on exposure to carcinogenic and
mutagenic chemicals, long term
effects can be expected.
3. The environmental damage not only to Yugoslavia, but also to the
neighboring countries
4. The need for immediate cleaning of known 'hot spots' in Yugoslavia
5. The investigation on the enviromental and health effects of the
bombing in Yugoslavia has to be
continued
Prof. Petar Bulat, MD, PhD
Head of Occupational Toxicology
Institute of Occupational and Radiological Health
Deligradska 29
11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Phone: +381-11-684155
Fax: 643675
e-mail addresses: bulatp@...
bulatp@...
P.S. Prof. Bulat was granted a fellowship for his postdoctoral studies
(October 1998 until March
1999) at Ghent University (Belgium). He returned 5 days prior to the
begining of the bombing to
continue his work at the Institute and University.
His mentor was Prof. Dr. Michel Vanhoorne (tel: +32-9-2403631 and fax:
32-9-2405107; e-mail:
Michel.Vanhoorne@...).
Prof. Vanhoorne together with the assistence of the NGO OXFAM are trying
to provide the
financial help for the Institute of Occupational and Radiological
Health. This is very noble and
practical idea to help the victims and also to continue the measurements
and investigations in the
area of the 'hot-spots' in spite of the decision of the international
community not to provide any
help as long as the current regime is in power. If you have will and
means to help, please contact
Prof. Vanhoorne for more information.
---
BILANCIO DELLE PERDITE DA PARTE DELLA NATO
STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
Update: NATO losses
Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 08:42:15 -0500
According to a March 25, 2000, article published by the ITAR-TASS news
agency, Russian GRU
(Main Intelligence Directorate) sources report that during the Operation
"Allied Force" NATO's
air forces sustained losses considerably higher than is officially
acknowledged by NATO
command. According to GRU information,NATO lost three F-117A stealth
bombers, and at least
40 other combat planes, and over 1000 cruise missiles.
So far NATO officials acknowledged losing three combat planes (the USAF
F-117A on March 27,
the USMC AV-8B Harrier on May 1, and the F-16CG-40-CF on May 2), two
attack helicopters
(AH-64 Apache on April 26 and another Apache on May 5), between 30 and
32 unmanned
reconnaissance vehicles, including at least 16 American, 7 German, and 5
French UAVs.
Interestingly enough NATO acknowledged all of the UAV losses mentioned
by Yugoslav military
officials - 30 - and, perhaps, even more.
Official NATO reports and statements made by various NATO officials
indicate that about 10
NATO planes made emergency landings. Two F-117As sustained extensive
damage (the F-117A
86-0837 was damaged on April 21 during landing; and another F-117A lost
a part of its tail
section due to a nearby SA-3 SAM explosion). An RAF C-130K Hercules
transport plane
crashed on June 11 in Albania. The aircraft was delivering a British SAS
unit that was trying to
beat Russian paratroopers to the Slatina base. The US Army OH-58 combat
reconnaissance
helicopter crashed on May 26 in Bosnia.
According to the information from unofficial Yugoslav military sources,
NATO's final assessment
of its aircraft losses during the operation "Allied Force" indicates
that some 61 aircraft have been
destroyed, 53 aircraft were damaged beyond repair or it is not
cost-effective to repair them, 57
aircraft have sustained repairable combat damage. A total of 171 NATO
aircraft were hit by
Yugoslav defenses during the war.
According to Yugoslav army officials, NATO lost 61 planes, 7
helicopters, 30 UAVs, and 238
cruise missiles. These numbers include only those NATO aircraft that
crashed inside Yugoslavia.
Distribution of aircraft kills among various units and branches of the
Yugoslav Armed Forces is as
follows: 3rd Army: 34 planes, 5 helicopters, 25 UAVs and 52 cruise
missiles (according to an
official statement by General Nebojsa Pavkovic, commander of the 3rd
Army, on June 12, 1999);
Navy: 3 planes, 3 UAVs and over 5 cruise missiles (from an official
statement by the FRY Navy
Commander, Milan Zec, June 10, 1999); 2nd Army: 24 planes, 2
helicopters, 2 UAVs
(reported by Major General Spasoje Smiljanic in his interview to
Politika newspaper at the end of
April), 30 cruise missiles; 1st Army: 6 planes, 129 cruise missiles
(reported by General Ninoslav
Krstic in his interview for the "Vojska" magazine on May 24, 1999.) If
you add up these numbers,
provided by various Yugoslav military officials, you will see that the
number of planes reported to
have been shot down is 67 and not 61 as the official report by Gen.
Dragoljub Ojdanic states. And
here's why:
On June 17, 1999, Gen. Spasoje Smiljanic, then commander of Yugoslav Air
Force and Air
Defense (RV i PVO), announced that "the Yugoslav Air Force and Air
Defence units have
downed 36 airplanes, 42 cruise missiles, nine UAVs and two helicopters."
It is important to keep
in mind, however, that RV i PVO air defense units do not include
low-level army air defenses or
naval air defenses, such as man-portable SAMs and some AAAs. The total
number planes shot
down by RV i PVO and by various air defense units outside of RV i PVO
command comes to 61
planes, 7 helicopters, 30 UAVs and 238 cruise missiles according to Gen.
Ojdanic. However,
these figures only include those NATO aircraft that crashed inside
Yugoslavia. In some of the
earlier reports mentioned above Yugoslav military commanders included
NATO aircraft that
crashed outside Yugoslavia.
Several new pieces of destroyed NATO hardware were added to the Yugoslav
Aeronautical
Museum's exhibit on March 24 to commemorate one year since the beginning
of NATO's
aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Currently the
museum's exhibit includes
over 1500 fragments of NATO's military hardware. The museum's curator,
Cedomir Janjic,
announced that more destroyed NATO weapons will be soon added to the
collection in a new wing
of the museum dedicated to the war with NATO.
In an interview to the Associated Press Yugoslavia's Minister for
Science and Development,
Cedomir Mirkovic, said "It is truly amazing how many aircraft and drones
were downed with the
relatively modest and primitive equipment..." Mirkovic refutes Western
claims that Yugoslav air
defense downed only two planes. "We shall prove we have more," he said,
without elaborating.
In February British press was discussing sharp shortage of operational
aircraft experienced by the
Royal Air Force. The news first appeared in the January 23, 2000,
Hundreds of Crippled Jets put
RAF in Crisis article from The Observer, by Antony Barnet. In
particular, the article, based on the
Observer's own investigation, outlines the following problems with the
RAF:
"Two out of three of the UK's 186 fleet of Tornado bombers are grounded;
Fewer than 40 per cent of other frontline aircraft, such as Harriers and
Jaguars, are ready to fly at
short notice;
The Ministry of Defence has spent almost £1 billion developing a
laser-guided bombing system
that does not work properly;
There is shortage of nearly 20 per cent of junior officer fast jet
pilots and the RAF is having a
severe problem in retaining trained pilots;"
Two out of three British Tornadoes that are grounded comes to a rather
substantial number: 124
Tornado strike aircraft are not operational. The crisis begun developing
following the Operation
"Desert Storm" in Iraq, but it really took off since the Operation
"Allied Force" against
Yugoslavia. As far as I know only four NATO Tornado aircraft were shot
down during the conflict
based on media reports. Two Luftwaffe strike aircraft were shot down on
March 26-27. The other
two Tornadoes were shot down on April 15 and May 26. It was not reported
whether these aircraft
were German or British.
The fact is that most of RAF's strike aircraft are out of order for a
variety of reasons. I do not
have enough information to draw any definitive conclusions. However, I
know enough to say that
124 strategically - important strike aircraft are not grounded for no
reason. NATO sustained
significant losses. An even greater number of aircraft were damaged not
only by ground fire but
also by the intensity of operations and skipping on the required
maintenance hours. After talking to
several USAF aircraft mechanics, who participated in the "Allied Force",
I can conclude that
NATO aircraft were pushed to the limit and way beyond it. This is
especially true for the USAF
aircraft. One USAF aircraft mechanic who served at Aviano told me: "Two
weeks - three weeks
tops - and the "Allied Force" would have been over 'cause NATO would
have ran out of working
planes."
In the February 13 article in The Observer, based on first-hand
information posted by RAF pilots
and technicians at an Internet discussion group and entitled Pilots Vent
Fury at RAF on Web,
Antony Barnet writes: "Pilots currently serving in the Gulf, and others
recently back from Kosovo,
are so angry about defective equipment and low morale they are flooding
the secret site with
complaints aimed at senior officers." The "secret" site is the PPRuNe
message board for military
pilots. I've spent several days at that site fishing for information
until that Sherlock from The
Observer scared everyone away with his article.
From what was written by RAF pilots, it can be readily seen that there
is a great deal of concern
about technical capabilities of aircraft and even about their basic
safety compromised by the lack
of proper technical service and spare parts. An RAF Captain wrote: "The
number of sorties lost
due to unserviceability is way too high. I now find that I have to
accept faults to get the job done
that a few years ago I would not have done ... Although I have a few
worries about the structural
strength of the airframe I am convinced that we are going to have a
major problem due to some
esoteric fault... We struggle to get spares, some parts have to be
manufactured over and over. We
use the cheapest contractor we can find..."
And, in place of a conclusion, a brief review of the latest developments
around Kosovo. Following
some harsh criticism directed by the U.S. military against France
regarding its role in the
Operation "Allied Force" and in response to the accusations by certain
US government officials
that French peacekeepers in Kosovo are not doing their job, France
released classified information
regarding civilian casualties in Kosovo since the NATO-led UN force
assumed responsibility for
the province following the war with Yugoslavia. Available statistics
clearly illustrated that the
French sector of Kosovo has a better safety record than the sector
supervised by the Americans.
However, information revealed by France also showed that civilian
casualties in Kosovo are much
higher than they were when Kosovo was under Yugoslav control. In
essence, the number of
violent deaths in the province is higher and continues to grow under
NATO's "humanitarian
intervention" that it was during the "ethnic cleansing." The report
released by France clearly
illustrates that the number of violent crimes in Kosovo is rapidly
growing. This revelation was the
first step in a series of events that led to recent statements by
various UN and NATO officials
confirming that the KFOR has effectively lost control over the situation
in Kosovo. NATO field
commanders acknowledged that their troops are not capable of dealing
with the growing crime
wave in the province. The UN formally announced that the situation in
Kosovo worsened since
NATO troops assumed control of the province. The US approached Russian
government with an
offer to widen the authority of the
Contact Group.
Russia's response was not very optimistic to say the least. Russian law
enforcement officials
announced that Russian policemen will not be deployed in Kosovo because
of appalling lack of
cooperation on NATO's side. Furthermore, top Russian military commanders
announced that
Russia may pull out of the KFOR altogether. On the other hand, commander
of Russian Airborne
Assault Forces (VDV) Gen. G. Shpak announced about plans to convert the
Slatina base of the
Yugoslav Air Force near Pristina, which currently serves as the main
base for Russian KFOR
paratroopers, into a large Russian military base with a capability to
barrack up to 15000 Russian
troops.
There are reports that Russians are already doing some large-scale
construction work at Slatina.
Russian Su-27 and Su-30 fighter aircraft have been sighted at several
Yugoslav Air Force bases
(Batajnica, Ponikve). There is a lot of unofficial information regarding
deliveries of Russian SAM
systems to Yugoslavia. High-level meetings are underway between Yugoslav
and Russian
governments regarding Yugoslavia's plans to join the Russia-Belarus
union. The Russian military
is extremely interested in establishing its presence in Kosovo and in
the rest of Serbia on a
greater scale. A logical first step would be a joint defense agreement
between Russia and
Yugoslavia. Such
an agreement will include Belarus and, possibly, other CIS members. In
an interview to the "Voice
of Russia" radio station, Gen. Ivashov said that Russia is considering a
military intervention in
Kosovo and may offer support to the Yugoslav Army on the ground.
Many question Yugoslavia's ability to purchase large quantities of
hi-tech weapons from Russia.
Yugoslavia's economy is not in great shape, but Russia owes FRY a hefty
sum, which Russians
would be only too glad to offset by supplying Serbia weapons. Russia is
also seeking more
influence in Europe now that the Chechen conflict is no longer a major
military commitment.
Russian generals and the military-industrial complex look to expand
internal arms market as well
as arms exports. Yugoslavia always has an option to lease or even borrow
weapons from Russia.
And the latter, with its recently-downsized army, has plenty of
decent-quality weapons to spare,
including SAMs and aircraft. SAMs and planes are not underwear: you
don't need to own 'em to
use 'em. This may not be the latest equipment but it works and there's a
lot of it.
According to an ITAR-TASS review of the article published by the Foreign
Military Review
magazine of the Russian Defense Ministry, Yugoslav aviation prevented
the use of American
AH-64 Apache attack helicopters during the Kosovo conflict. The "NATO
Losses in the War
with Yugoslavia" article, the Foreign Military Review writes: "... the
biggest sensation was the
number of troops lost by NATO. Not just NATO pilots were killed in
Yugoslavia, but also
search-and-rescue troops that were tasked with locating downed pilots.
Yugoslav air defenses
have shot down no less than five NATO helicopters, which resulted in
deaths of about 100 troops
of the Alliance."
According to the Foreign Military Review, the reason why Pentagon did
not use Apaches in
Kosovo "...had nothing to do with technical problems with the
helicopters or insufficient training of
their flight crews, as was often stated by NATO officials. The only
reason was the April 26 attack
carried out by Yugoslav "Galeb" fighters against "Rinas" airport located
near Albania's capital of
Tirana, where the Apaches were based. That day two groups of these light
helicopters were
destroyed and over 10 helicopters were damaged."
A similar operation was carried out by Yugoslav AF on April 18 against
the airport in Tuzla,
Bosnia, used as an emergency landing site for NATO aircraft. As the
result of this attack some
fifteen NATO aircraft have been destroyed on the ground. The Foreign
Military Review writes:
"Despite the fact that American aircraft dominated NATO operations, they
weren't the only
aircraft shot down by Yugoslav air defenses. Among the destroyed
aircraft were five German
"Tornadoes," several British "Harriers'" two French "Mirages," Belgian,
Dutch, and Canadian
aircraft. On June 7 the USAF lost a B-52 strategic bomber, while on May
20 a B-2A "Spirit" was
shot down."
Venik
March 28, 2000 - April 9, 2000
Venik's Aviation Page
http://www.venik.way.to/
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
RIMSKI SAVEZ ZA JUGOSLAVIJU
e-mail: crj@... - URL: http://marx2001.org/crj
http://www.egroups.com/group/crj-mailinglist/
------------------------------------------------------------
MILICA RAKIC
9/2/1996 - 17/4/1999
uccisa nella propria casa presso l'aereoporto di Batajnica (RFJ).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Su Milica Rakic e gli altri crimini della NATO segnaliamo:
* THE WHITE BOOK OF NATO WAR CRIMES
www.mfa.gov.yu/bela/index.htm (book 1)
www.mfa.gov.yu/bela2/NATO_agr.htm (book 2)
http://www.smip.sv.gov.yu/
* Milica Rakic, una vittima dei bombardamenti umanitari
http://www.publica.cz/svedectvi.htm
* Who is next?
http://www.net.yu/~stopwar
* Overview of the collateral damage in Yugoslavia
http://news.beograd.com/collateral_damages/index.html
* The InterMedia Center
http://www.imcnews.com/
* Serbian Unity Congress
http://www.suc.ogr/exhibitions/destruction/
* Truth in the Media
http://www.truthinmedia.org/Kosovo/War/PhotoAlbum/photos-war-index.html
* Serbia Info
http://www.serbia-info.com/news/1999-06/14/12573.html
http://www.serbia-info.com/news/1999-08/01/13670.html
* Radio Televizija Srbije
http://www.rts.co.yu/fotografije/mapa.htm
* Socijalisticka Partija Srbije
http://www.sps.org.yu/aktuelno/foto.html
---
EFFETTI AMBIENTALI E SULLA SALUTE DEI BOMBARDAMENTI N.A.T.O.
Subject: [yugoslaviainfo] Chemical and Nuclear Warfare against
Yugoslavia
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2000 16:08:57 +0200
From: Darka <peter.darka@...>
To: Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. È necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.
On the 26th of March, 2000 I attended the conference in Brussels,
entitled: 'Security, only a
military question?' (Veiligheid, een kwestie van militairen?) It was
organized by the Forum for
Peace Initiatives (Forum voor Vredesactie, e-mail
forum@...). One of the
paricipants was Yugoslav expert for occupational toxicology, Prof. Dr
Petar Bulat. He presented
first hand information on the measurements they performed and possible
impact on the last year
bombing in Yugoslavia, on the environment and health. I am posting the
summary of his
presentation in order to inform the public what could be the long term
effects on the health
conditions of the peoples in Yugoslavia and Balkan region. I also want
to address the legal
experts who are collecting the data to support their charges against
NATO at the Tribunal (ICTY)
in the Hague.
Darka
THE ENVIROMENTAL AND HEALTH EFFECTS OF BOMBING IN YUGOSLAVIA
Petar Bulat, Medical Faculty, University of Belgrade
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)
-Formed in 1992 from Serbia and Montenegro (republics of Former
Yugoslavia0
-Located in the center of Balkan Peninsula
-It has 102.173 square km
-~10.500.000 inhabitants
The war against Yugoslavia
-Starts on March 24;
-Ended on June 10
-1200 airplanes engaged;
-2300 air strikes;
-22.000 tons (22.000.000 kg) of explosives were in 20.000 'smart' and
5000 'dumb' bombs
-400 Tomahawk missiles and 130 'air-ground' missiles
Objects damaged or comletely destroyed
-25.000 civilian buildings
-78 industrial facilities
-42 Energetical objects
-64 Telecommunication objects
-66 Bridges
-32 Agricutural facilities
-23 Railroads or railway stations
-8 Airports
The most important targets regarding environmental damage
-Chemical complex Pancevo (Petrochemical plant. Oil rafinery and
Fertilizer plant)
-Oil rafinery Novi Sad
-Automobile industry 'Zastava' Kragujevac
-Copper industry Bor
The environmental consequences of bombing the Petrochemical complex in
Pancevo
1. Ethylene dichloride (EDC)
-2100 tons of EDC released in environment;
-EDC considered toxic for: liver, kidney, heart, respiratory and nervous
system;
-International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) categorized EDC as
possible human
carcinogen (IARC category 2B)
2. vinyl chloride (VC)
Burning and rellesing in the atmosphere 440 tons of VC
-phosgene (up to 10X permissible level)
-VC (up to 1000X permissible level)
-VC is considered toxic for: liver kidney. heart, respiratory,
reproductive and nervous system
-IARC categorized VC as human cancirogen (category 1)
3. Mercury
-8000 kg of mercury released in soil and ground waters.
Mercury is considered toxic for: respiratory and nervous system, blood,
kidney and liver
The environmental consequences of bombing the Fertilizer plant in
Pancevo
-200 tons of ammonia were released
-ammonia in atmophsere (2-3X permissible level)
-Caused mild to moderate signs of irritation of respiratory system in
Pancevo inhabitants)
The enviromental consequences of bombing the oil refineries in Pancevo
and Novi Sad
In Novi sad 73.569 tons crude oil and derivatives destroyed:
-10 % were released in soil
-Around 90 % were burned.
In Pancevo 61.800 tons crude oil and derivatives destroyed:
-The most were burned and some were relesed in soil.
Burning the oil and derivatives causes a huge release in atmophsere of:
-sulfur dioxide,
-nitrogen oxides (ozone delpleting agent)
-tar
-carbon monoxide,
benzo[a]pyrene, etc.
Novi Sad mesurements show:
-sulfur dioxide in atmosphere 2X permissible level
-carbon monoxide 3.5-6X permissible level
-nirtogen oxides 4-12 X permissible level
-increased concentrations of volatile hydrocarbons, benzene and
polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbones (PAHs) in ground
waters
-The PAHs are mainly considered as carcinogenic, mutagenic and
teratogenic substances
-IARC categorized benzo[a]pyrene and benzo[b]fluoroanthene as probable
human carcinogens
(IARC Category 2A)
The enviromental consequences of damages in the automobile industry
"Zastava'-Kragujevac
-2 transformers leaked 1428 litres of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
based oils
-The 250 litres of PCB oil were captured;
- ~300 litres of PCB oil were burned and caused incresed levels of
dioxins and furanes.
- ~850-900 litres of PCB oil released in soil and trough the ground
waters reached Lepenica river
(source of water supply for near by villages).
According to UNEP Balkan Task Force measurements, the PCB levels
concentrations in Lepenica
were 40 X permissible levels.
The enviromental consequences of damages in the copper industry in Bor
-At least 20-60 workers engaged in removing parts of damaged capacitors
and transformers.
-11 of them hospitalized in the Institute of Occupational Health. Among
them, 9 have passed
chromosomal aberrations
testing:
-In 2 serious chromosomal aberrations
-In 2 mild abberations were noted.
The health effects of PCBs
-PCBs are considered toxic substances for: liver, skin, reproductive,
immune and nervous system
-IARC categorized PCBs probable human carcinogen (IARC Category 2A)
The use of deplete uranium contaiing bombs
-Used at least at 8 locations in Yugoslavia:
-7 are in Serbia
-1 in Montenegro
-No precise data on its
usage in Kosovo (at least at 70 locations)
Conclusions
1. Not enough data on the enviromental and health effects of the
bombing in Yugoslavia
2. According to available data, on exposure to carcinogenic and
mutagenic chemicals, long term
effects can be expected.
3. The environmental damage not only to Yugoslavia, but also to the
neighboring countries
4. The need for immediate cleaning of known 'hot spots' in Yugoslavia
5. The investigation on the enviromental and health effects of the
bombing in Yugoslavia has to be
continued
Prof. Petar Bulat, MD, PhD
Head of Occupational Toxicology
Institute of Occupational and Radiological Health
Deligradska 29
11000 Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Phone: +381-11-684155
Fax: 643675
e-mail addresses: bulatp@...
bulatp@...
P.S. Prof. Bulat was granted a fellowship for his postdoctoral studies
(October 1998 until March
1999) at Ghent University (Belgium). He returned 5 days prior to the
begining of the bombing to
continue his work at the Institute and University.
His mentor was Prof. Dr. Michel Vanhoorne (tel: +32-9-2403631 and fax:
32-9-2405107; e-mail:
Michel.Vanhoorne@...).
Prof. Vanhoorne together with the assistence of the NGO OXFAM are trying
to provide the
financial help for the Institute of Occupational and Radiological
Health. This is very noble and
practical idea to help the victims and also to continue the measurements
and investigations in the
area of the 'hot-spots' in spite of the decision of the international
community not to provide any
help as long as the current regime is in power. If you have will and
means to help, please contact
Prof. Vanhoorne for more information.
---
BILANCIO DELLE PERDITE DA PARTE DELLA NATO
STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG
Update: NATO losses
Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2000 08:42:15 -0500
According to a March 25, 2000, article published by the ITAR-TASS news
agency, Russian GRU
(Main Intelligence Directorate) sources report that during the Operation
"Allied Force" NATO's
air forces sustained losses considerably higher than is officially
acknowledged by NATO
command. According to GRU information,NATO lost three F-117A stealth
bombers, and at least
40 other combat planes, and over 1000 cruise missiles.
So far NATO officials acknowledged losing three combat planes (the USAF
F-117A on March 27,
the USMC AV-8B Harrier on May 1, and the F-16CG-40-CF on May 2), two
attack helicopters
(AH-64 Apache on April 26 and another Apache on May 5), between 30 and
32 unmanned
reconnaissance vehicles, including at least 16 American, 7 German, and 5
French UAVs.
Interestingly enough NATO acknowledged all of the UAV losses mentioned
by Yugoslav military
officials - 30 - and, perhaps, even more.
Official NATO reports and statements made by various NATO officials
indicate that about 10
NATO planes made emergency landings. Two F-117As sustained extensive
damage (the F-117A
86-0837 was damaged on April 21 during landing; and another F-117A lost
a part of its tail
section due to a nearby SA-3 SAM explosion). An RAF C-130K Hercules
transport plane
crashed on June 11 in Albania. The aircraft was delivering a British SAS
unit that was trying to
beat Russian paratroopers to the Slatina base. The US Army OH-58 combat
reconnaissance
helicopter crashed on May 26 in Bosnia.
According to the information from unofficial Yugoslav military sources,
NATO's final assessment
of its aircraft losses during the operation "Allied Force" indicates
that some 61 aircraft have been
destroyed, 53 aircraft were damaged beyond repair or it is not
cost-effective to repair them, 57
aircraft have sustained repairable combat damage. A total of 171 NATO
aircraft were hit by
Yugoslav defenses during the war.
According to Yugoslav army officials, NATO lost 61 planes, 7
helicopters, 30 UAVs, and 238
cruise missiles. These numbers include only those NATO aircraft that
crashed inside Yugoslavia.
Distribution of aircraft kills among various units and branches of the
Yugoslav Armed Forces is as
follows: 3rd Army: 34 planes, 5 helicopters, 25 UAVs and 52 cruise
missiles (according to an
official statement by General Nebojsa Pavkovic, commander of the 3rd
Army, on June 12, 1999);
Navy: 3 planes, 3 UAVs and over 5 cruise missiles (from an official
statement by the FRY Navy
Commander, Milan Zec, June 10, 1999); 2nd Army: 24 planes, 2
helicopters, 2 UAVs
(reported by Major General Spasoje Smiljanic in his interview to
Politika newspaper at the end of
April), 30 cruise missiles; 1st Army: 6 planes, 129 cruise missiles
(reported by General Ninoslav
Krstic in his interview for the "Vojska" magazine on May 24, 1999.) If
you add up these numbers,
provided by various Yugoslav military officials, you will see that the
number of planes reported to
have been shot down is 67 and not 61 as the official report by Gen.
Dragoljub Ojdanic states. And
here's why:
On June 17, 1999, Gen. Spasoje Smiljanic, then commander of Yugoslav Air
Force and Air
Defense (RV i PVO), announced that "the Yugoslav Air Force and Air
Defence units have
downed 36 airplanes, 42 cruise missiles, nine UAVs and two helicopters."
It is important to keep
in mind, however, that RV i PVO air defense units do not include
low-level army air defenses or
naval air defenses, such as man-portable SAMs and some AAAs. The total
number planes shot
down by RV i PVO and by various air defense units outside of RV i PVO
command comes to 61
planes, 7 helicopters, 30 UAVs and 238 cruise missiles according to Gen.
Ojdanic. However,
these figures only include those NATO aircraft that crashed inside
Yugoslavia. In some of the
earlier reports mentioned above Yugoslav military commanders included
NATO aircraft that
crashed outside Yugoslavia.
Several new pieces of destroyed NATO hardware were added to the Yugoslav
Aeronautical
Museum's exhibit on March 24 to commemorate one year since the beginning
of NATO's
aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Currently the
museum's exhibit includes
over 1500 fragments of NATO's military hardware. The museum's curator,
Cedomir Janjic,
announced that more destroyed NATO weapons will be soon added to the
collection in a new wing
of the museum dedicated to the war with NATO.
In an interview to the Associated Press Yugoslavia's Minister for
Science and Development,
Cedomir Mirkovic, said "It is truly amazing how many aircraft and drones
were downed with the
relatively modest and primitive equipment..." Mirkovic refutes Western
claims that Yugoslav air
defense downed only two planes. "We shall prove we have more," he said,
without elaborating.
In February British press was discussing sharp shortage of operational
aircraft experienced by the
Royal Air Force. The news first appeared in the January 23, 2000,
Hundreds of Crippled Jets put
RAF in Crisis article from The Observer, by Antony Barnet. In
particular, the article, based on the
Observer's own investigation, outlines the following problems with the
RAF:
"Two out of three of the UK's 186 fleet of Tornado bombers are grounded;
Fewer than 40 per cent of other frontline aircraft, such as Harriers and
Jaguars, are ready to fly at
short notice;
The Ministry of Defence has spent almost £1 billion developing a
laser-guided bombing system
that does not work properly;
There is shortage of nearly 20 per cent of junior officer fast jet
pilots and the RAF is having a
severe problem in retaining trained pilots;"
Two out of three British Tornadoes that are grounded comes to a rather
substantial number: 124
Tornado strike aircraft are not operational. The crisis begun developing
following the Operation
"Desert Storm" in Iraq, but it really took off since the Operation
"Allied Force" against
Yugoslavia. As far as I know only four NATO Tornado aircraft were shot
down during the conflict
based on media reports. Two Luftwaffe strike aircraft were shot down on
March 26-27. The other
two Tornadoes were shot down on April 15 and May 26. It was not reported
whether these aircraft
were German or British.
The fact is that most of RAF's strike aircraft are out of order for a
variety of reasons. I do not
have enough information to draw any definitive conclusions. However, I
know enough to say that
124 strategically - important strike aircraft are not grounded for no
reason. NATO sustained
significant losses. An even greater number of aircraft were damaged not
only by ground fire but
also by the intensity of operations and skipping on the required
maintenance hours. After talking to
several USAF aircraft mechanics, who participated in the "Allied Force",
I can conclude that
NATO aircraft were pushed to the limit and way beyond it. This is
especially true for the USAF
aircraft. One USAF aircraft mechanic who served at Aviano told me: "Two
weeks - three weeks
tops - and the "Allied Force" would have been over 'cause NATO would
have ran out of working
planes."
In the February 13 article in The Observer, based on first-hand
information posted by RAF pilots
and technicians at an Internet discussion group and entitled Pilots Vent
Fury at RAF on Web,
Antony Barnet writes: "Pilots currently serving in the Gulf, and others
recently back from Kosovo,
are so angry about defective equipment and low morale they are flooding
the secret site with
complaints aimed at senior officers." The "secret" site is the PPRuNe
message board for military
pilots. I've spent several days at that site fishing for information
until that Sherlock from The
Observer scared everyone away with his article.
From what was written by RAF pilots, it can be readily seen that there
is a great deal of concern
about technical capabilities of aircraft and even about their basic
safety compromised by the lack
of proper technical service and spare parts. An RAF Captain wrote: "The
number of sorties lost
due to unserviceability is way too high. I now find that I have to
accept faults to get the job done
that a few years ago I would not have done ... Although I have a few
worries about the structural
strength of the airframe I am convinced that we are going to have a
major problem due to some
esoteric fault... We struggle to get spares, some parts have to be
manufactured over and over. We
use the cheapest contractor we can find..."
And, in place of a conclusion, a brief review of the latest developments
around Kosovo. Following
some harsh criticism directed by the U.S. military against France
regarding its role in the
Operation "Allied Force" and in response to the accusations by certain
US government officials
that French peacekeepers in Kosovo are not doing their job, France
released classified information
regarding civilian casualties in Kosovo since the NATO-led UN force
assumed responsibility for
the province following the war with Yugoslavia. Available statistics
clearly illustrated that the
French sector of Kosovo has a better safety record than the sector
supervised by the Americans.
However, information revealed by France also showed that civilian
casualties in Kosovo are much
higher than they were when Kosovo was under Yugoslav control. In
essence, the number of
violent deaths in the province is higher and continues to grow under
NATO's "humanitarian
intervention" that it was during the "ethnic cleansing." The report
released by France clearly
illustrates that the number of violent crimes in Kosovo is rapidly
growing. This revelation was the
first step in a series of events that led to recent statements by
various UN and NATO officials
confirming that the KFOR has effectively lost control over the situation
in Kosovo. NATO field
commanders acknowledged that their troops are not capable of dealing
with the growing crime
wave in the province. The UN formally announced that the situation in
Kosovo worsened since
NATO troops assumed control of the province. The US approached Russian
government with an
offer to widen the authority of the
Contact Group.
Russia's response was not very optimistic to say the least. Russian law
enforcement officials
announced that Russian policemen will not be deployed in Kosovo because
of appalling lack of
cooperation on NATO's side. Furthermore, top Russian military commanders
announced that
Russia may pull out of the KFOR altogether. On the other hand, commander
of Russian Airborne
Assault Forces (VDV) Gen. G. Shpak announced about plans to convert the
Slatina base of the
Yugoslav Air Force near Pristina, which currently serves as the main
base for Russian KFOR
paratroopers, into a large Russian military base with a capability to
barrack up to 15000 Russian
troops.
There are reports that Russians are already doing some large-scale
construction work at Slatina.
Russian Su-27 and Su-30 fighter aircraft have been sighted at several
Yugoslav Air Force bases
(Batajnica, Ponikve). There is a lot of unofficial information regarding
deliveries of Russian SAM
systems to Yugoslavia. High-level meetings are underway between Yugoslav
and Russian
governments regarding Yugoslavia's plans to join the Russia-Belarus
union. The Russian military
is extremely interested in establishing its presence in Kosovo and in
the rest of Serbia on a
greater scale. A logical first step would be a joint defense agreement
between Russia and
Yugoslavia. Such
an agreement will include Belarus and, possibly, other CIS members. In
an interview to the "Voice
of Russia" radio station, Gen. Ivashov said that Russia is considering a
military intervention in
Kosovo and may offer support to the Yugoslav Army on the ground.
Many question Yugoslavia's ability to purchase large quantities of
hi-tech weapons from Russia.
Yugoslavia's economy is not in great shape, but Russia owes FRY a hefty
sum, which Russians
would be only too glad to offset by supplying Serbia weapons. Russia is
also seeking more
influence in Europe now that the Chechen conflict is no longer a major
military commitment.
Russian generals and the military-industrial complex look to expand
internal arms market as well
as arms exports. Yugoslavia always has an option to lease or even borrow
weapons from Russia.
And the latter, with its recently-downsized army, has plenty of
decent-quality weapons to spare,
including SAMs and aircraft. SAMs and planes are not underwear: you
don't need to own 'em to
use 'em. This may not be the latest equipment but it works and there's a
lot of it.
According to an ITAR-TASS review of the article published by the Foreign
Military Review
magazine of the Russian Defense Ministry, Yugoslav aviation prevented
the use of American
AH-64 Apache attack helicopters during the Kosovo conflict. The "NATO
Losses in the War
with Yugoslavia" article, the Foreign Military Review writes: "... the
biggest sensation was the
number of troops lost by NATO. Not just NATO pilots were killed in
Yugoslavia, but also
search-and-rescue troops that were tasked with locating downed pilots.
Yugoslav air defenses
have shot down no less than five NATO helicopters, which resulted in
deaths of about 100 troops
of the Alliance."
According to the Foreign Military Review, the reason why Pentagon did
not use Apaches in
Kosovo "...had nothing to do with technical problems with the
helicopters or insufficient training of
their flight crews, as was often stated by NATO officials. The only
reason was the April 26 attack
carried out by Yugoslav "Galeb" fighters against "Rinas" airport located
near Albania's capital of
Tirana, where the Apaches were based. That day two groups of these light
helicopters were
destroyed and over 10 helicopters were damaged."
A similar operation was carried out by Yugoslav AF on April 18 against
the airport in Tuzla,
Bosnia, used as an emergency landing site for NATO aircraft. As the
result of this attack some
fifteen NATO aircraft have been destroyed on the ground. The Foreign
Military Review writes:
"Despite the fact that American aircraft dominated NATO operations, they
weren't the only
aircraft shot down by Yugoslav air defenses. Among the destroyed
aircraft were five German
"Tornadoes," several British "Harriers'" two French "Mirages," Belgian,
Dutch, and Canadian
aircraft. On June 7 the USAF lost a B-52 strategic bomber, while on May
20 a B-2A "Spirit" was
shot down."
Venik
March 28, 2000 - April 9, 2000
Venik's Aviation Page
http://www.venik.way.to/
--------- COORDINAMENTO ROMANO PER LA JUGOSLAVIA -----------
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