ALEKSIĆ: VICTIMS HAVE RIGHT TO COMPENSATION FOR DEPLETED URANIUM

BANJA LUKA, NOVEMBER 27 /SRNA/ – Depleted uranium left consequences on the health of people in both Serbia and Republika Srpska after the NATO bombing, so victims have the right to compensation, lawyer Srđan Aleksić has said today in Banja Luka.

"Depleted uranium cannot be found in nature. It is artificially produced. In Italy, we have 500 first-instance court rulings. Why should we, in Republika Srpska and Serbia, be second-class citizens?" said Aleksić, who held a lecture on the topic "The use of depleted uranium and its impact on human health, especially the occurrence of cancer". He adds that the first lawsuits can be filed by the end of the year in Banja Luka and Belgrade, following the example of Italian lawyer Angelo Tartaglia, who represented Italian soldiers against NATO. Aleksić noted that it has been proven that Italian soldiers stationed in Serbia and Republika Srpska developed cancer. "In Han Pijesak, Bratunac, and other locations where depleted uranium was dropped, we have a large number of people who became ill and could follow the same path to participate in lawsuits," Aleksić said before his lecture at Apeiron University. Aleksić stated that 15 tons of depleted uranium were dropped on more than 120 locations in Serbia, and the radiation levels are 100 times higher than in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. "In Serbia, we have 30,000 people with cancer, and 15,000 die. I am not saying that all deaths were caused by depleted uranium, but we conducted analyses indicating a high level of radiation," Aleksić said. He added that the way to establish a causal link is through biopsies, as samples are preserved for up to 50 years after a patient's death, emphasizing that proving the presence of this matter is straightforward.