ITALY SEEKS INVESTIGATION, NO INCREASED CANCER INCIDENCE IN BOSNIA

SARAJEVO, Jan 4 (Hina) - Italian Foreign Minister Sergio Mattarela confirmed in Sarajevo on Thursday his government was determined to uncover the complete truth about the cause of death of soldiers serving in peace missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. The Health Ministry of the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina announced that according to available data one could not conclude that there was an increase in the number of cancer victims caused by the use of radioactive ammunition during the war in Bosnia- Herzegovina, although the number of cancer victims in 1999 was higher than the 1998 number. We have to know the complete truth about the real causes of death of our soldiers, Mattarela told reporters after his talks with the president of the BH Council of Ministers, Martin Raguz, and officials at the defence ministries of Bosnia's two entities, BH Federation and Republika Srpska. Mattarela warned that at the moment there was no evidence whatsoever that the death of six Italian soldiers was connected to their serving in the Balkan peace missions. He added that a special team of Italian experts was expected to provide exact data which would help in resolving the affair caused by claims that the soldiers died from cancer after having been exposed to radiation from impoverished uranium. The ammunition used by US jets in 1994 and 1995 for destroying Bosnian Serb army tanks and armoured vehicles attacking UN protected zones in Bosnia contained impoverished uranium. According to Mattarela, the government in Rome will provide full technical assistance to the BH authorities with the aim of uncovering possible consequences of the use of impoverished uranium on civilian population. Representatives of entity health ministries should present data on the number of malignant diseases in the country at a special session of the BH Council of Ministers, which has been scheduled for next Monday. There is not a single institution in Bosnia-Herzegovina which would compile such data, which hampers an overview of the entire situation. The health ministry of the BH Federation today said the available data were not sufficient to draw the conclusion that the increased number of malignant diseases was caused by impoverished uranium. In a statement issued in Sarajevo, the ministry said the health and statistical studies conducted in 1999 confirmed the rate of malignant diseases was slightly higher than the 1998 rate. In 1999, 230 in 100,000 people suffered from cancer in the Federation, whereas that number the year before was 152. As regards diseases which could be caused by ionising radiation, which could be produced by impoverished uranium, in 1998 6.24 percent of 100,000 residents were such cases, and the percentage rose to 10.4 percent one year later. Annual radioactivity tests of water and food, conducted by the Federation's Institute for Public Health, showed no significant departures. "On the basis of these parameters, one cannot confirm with certainty increased death incidence caused by ionising radiation at the moment because that demands additional research," the ministry reported. The ministry also said preparations for the establishment of a register of malignant diseases were only underway. The ministry is worried about the fact that nobody in the country has been officially informed that impoverished uranium was used in ammunition and expects of competent international organisations, including the SFOR health service, to provide expert and technical assistance in preventing possible further consequences. (hina) rml