ALEKSIĆ: NATO SHOULD COMPENSATE VICTIMS AND CLEAN UP CONTAMINATED AREA

BELGRADE, SEPTEMBER 8 /SRNA/ - NATO will be sued for compensation for every citizen of Republika Srpska who developed cancer as a result of the use of depleted uranium during the 1995 bombing of Srpska, attorney Srđan Aleksić from Niš told SRNA.

"We will initiate proceedings before the courts in BiH and Republika Srpska on behalf of affected citizens and demand that the NATO alliance pay damages for each of them. This is possible - we have court cases from Italy, where compensation ranges from €500,000 to €2 million," Aleksić said. Aleksić, whose law firm represents citizens of Serbia who developed malignant diseases as a result of the bombing, stated that NATO should also cover the medical treatment of citizens of Serbia and Republika Srpska and clean up the environment where depleted uranium ammunition was used. "Depleted uranium takes 4.5 billion years to decay. This means that the uranium dropped on Republika Srpska and Serbia remains here for all eternity. This is a crime not only against humanity, but also against God, because all future generations will face problems from depleted uranium unless action is taken to try to clean it up," Aleksić said. He stated that NATO dropped more than two tons of depleted uranium on the areas of Han Pijesak, Bratunac, and other places where Serbs lived, resulting in a large number of those affected by illnesses. Aleksić emphasized that it is not only the residents of Republika Srpska who are dying from or developing cancer, but also those in the Federation of BiH /FBiH/ and reminded that the first Italian soldier from the international forces proven to have developed cancer and died as a result of depleted uranium was stationed at a base in Sarajevo. "The first case against NATO, handled by my colleague Angelo Tartaglia, an attorney from Italy, involved an Italian soldier who was stationed at the `Marshal Tito` barracks in Sarajevo. He was not even on the front lines; he worked as a mechanic, washing and cleaning vehicles that had been in the territories of Republika Srpska and the FBiH and were returning to their depots," Aleksić said. He emphasized that, to represent those affected in Republika Srpska and the FBiH, it is first necessary to analyze biopsy samples from citizens who have developed or died from cancer.