07/08/2009 On July 8, 2009 a meeting of NGO’s and Press took place successfully in Athens about "War crimes in Gaza – the case of DU". Maria Arvaniti Sotiropoulou President of the Greek Affiliate of IPPNW explained why we organized this meeting. She made a short review of DU weapons. IPPNW Greece was the first NGO which published the issue (1991) and in 2001 informed the press about the use of these weapons in Yugoslavia before NATO did. In the same year we forced the Greek government to accept that that the Greek army not only possessed but had already used these weapons in exercises of the Greek Navy.
She reminded the action of IPPNW Greece on Dec 2008 about the vote of abstention that Greece had in the UN Assembly on the same issue. She also referred to the role of IPPNW from the meeting in Prato (1981) in the peace efforts in Palestine and the close collaboration of the Palestinian and Israel Affiliates, and their collaboration in the seminar we organized in Athens (1999). At last she reminded the Press Release about the use of White Phosphorus that we published during the recent brutal bombing in Gaza.
Jean Marie Matagne president of ACDN described the opinion of ACDN that GBU-39s weapons that -as published in Israeli press- were used in Gaza contain DU and the actions of ACDN to IAE and UN to investigate the issue.
Mr John Moussalas gen secretary of “Madecins du Monde” Greek organisation
described his experience from the hospitals in Gaza and the suffering of the people during the attack and the raise of mortality of the chronic diseased because of the embargo. He was among the people on the "Arion” boat that the Israeli troops forced to stop carrying humanitarian help to the people in Gaza. He also said that the Aid that the Greek people through the government offered to the Palestinian people went through Israel and has not arrived after 6 months to Palestine.
Mrs Aliki Marangopoulou, president of the Marangopoulos Human Rights Foundation (professor of Low) reminded the action of their NGO in the International Justice of Hague against NATO for the use of DU weapons in Yugoslavia.
Mr Panos Trigazis President of the Observatory of International Organizations
Proposed that all the present NGO’s should sign an appeal to the Greek MP’s asking them to vote for the illegality of DU weapons following the recent example of Belgian MP’s. His motion was accepted.
back
