JUSTICE FOR THE FRENCH VETERANS WHO ARE VICTIMS OF THE "GULF WAR"
*LETHAL INJUSTICE*
* _JOINT MEDIA RELEASE FROM_*
_*"AVIGOLFE" (French Veterans of the Gulf War) and*_
_*"ACDN" (Action of Citizens for Nuclear Disarmament)*_
On 29 June 2005, on the 48th day of his hunger-strike, Christian
Prud'homme [a veteran of the 1991 War] was received at the French
Ministry of Defense - accompanied by his care-giver and the presidents
of Avigolfe and ACDN - by eight Ministry officials, most of whom
remained anonymous (here they will be called "the Ministry"). The
interview, scheduled to last one hour, lasted three times that long,
but produced no tangible result.
Consistently refusing to face the overall problem of the Gulf War
veterans who have died or who suffer from adverse health consequences,
the Ministry proceeded to examine in detail the "case" of Brigadier
Prud'homme, whereas he had and has no intention of separating his case
from those of his comrades; besides, those present at this meeting
lacked the competence to judge the medical aspects of his case or to
be given the details of his private life.
At the end of the interview, the Ministry proposed a one-off
assistance payment to Christian Prud'homme, visits from the
sub-prefect and a manager of ONAC [the national returned servicemen's
office], and a reexamination of his dossier "from the very beginning"
by the very same army judicial committee which had decided in 2003 to
award him an accumulated invalidity pay-out of 95%, but only "on
documentary grounds" and "without pension". The Ministry does not
accept the presumption that the health problems are imputable to
military service through exposure to multiple pathogens during the
Gulf War (just as that presumption is rejected for asbestos victims in
civilian life). The onus is on each veteran or widow to prove the
connection.
Now everyone knows that it is very hard to prove cause and effect when
an illness or infirmity appears months or years later, as for example
with the cases of inhalation and ingestion of dust particles from
"Depleted Uranium" (so-called, but it is depleted only in U235 and
enriched in other uranium isotopes). The fact that this French
soldier, on his return from the Gulf, was disembarked at Toulon on a
stretcher, with a diagnosis of post-traumatic pathologies, is not even
counted as sufficient proof. Under these conditions, how can the 400
veterans or veterans' families who have contacted Avigolfe hope to
have their rights recognised?
The Ministry is hiding behind the advice of experts or behind current
judicial proceedings. However, Professor Salamon, whose expertise the
Ministry sought, has declared :/ « one must say that there are
additional problems due to the Gulf War, and these must be taken
account of, recognised, pensioned, and everyone will agree »/
(France-Bleue Gironde, interview broadcast on 20 and 23 November
2004). As for the judicial proceedings, they were instigated by
victims only out of desperation, and nothing prevents the ministry
from extinguishing them by taking_ the political decision_ to
acknowledge and assume the responsibilities of the army as an employer
in this matter of employment-related illnesses.
The Ministry seems once more to be "playing for time" and trying to
stifle the media scandal which Prud'homme's action is starting to stir
up. Christian Prud'homme has informed the Ministry that he intends to
continue his hunger-strike until the authorities put in place the
justice and commonsense measures which are required by the situation
of the victims of "Operation Daguet", i.e. France's participation in
the Gulf War of 1991.
We call on all citizens, irrespective of their political leanings, to
mobilise so as to end this unjust situation without delay.
*AVIGOLFE ACDN*
*avigolfe@tiscali.fr*
<mailto:avigolfe@tiscali.fr* *acdn.france@wanadoo.fr*
<mailto:acdn.france@wanadoo.fr_ _*
**
_________________________________________________________
HELP! Today, July, 2, 2005, 51st day of hunger strike of Christian Prud'homme!
URGENT PETITION to Ms Alliot-Marie, French minister of defense.
*URGENT PETITION
*
Please return it to: courrier-ministre@sdbc.defense.gouv.fr
<mailto:courrier-ministre@sdbc.defense.gouv.fr
With copies to: acdn.france@wanadoo.fr
<mailto:acdn.france@wanadoo.fr; avigolfe@tiscali.fr
<mailto:avigolfe@tiscali.fr;
By FAX: (++) 33 5 46 74 08 60
*JUSTICE FOR THE FRENCH VETERANS WHO ARE VICTIMS OF THE "GULF WAR"
*
The undersigned is hereby petitioning
The Minister of Defense,
The Secretary of State for Returned Servicemen,
The Prime Minister, and
The President of the French Republic.
Fourteen years after the "Gulf War" of 1991, the often serious
illnesses and infirmities contracted then - known elsewhere as "Gulf
War Syndrome" and recognised at least in part in the USA and the UK
- are not at all recognised in France. French soldiers who are
veterans of that war have received no recognition from the army.
They receive no invalid's pension. They have to obtain medical care
at their own expense or on Social Security. If they manage to
access their medical records, they find them to be incomplete or
falsified. The widows or families of deceased victims receive no
assistance.
In desperation after fourteen years of futile efforts, one of these
seriously ill veterans, M. Christian Prud'homme, began a hunger
strike on 13 May 2005 in order to gain recognition for his rights and
those of his comrades.
As citizen of the world, as peace, justice and disarmament activist,
I am giving him my support and the support of the
association which I am responsible for.
We consider that France has a debt towards those who have served
under her flag and have suffered the results of her policies,
whether it be in the Gulf War, in the Balkans, or during the nuclear
testing in the Sahara and the Pacific which caused harm to civilian
and military personnel. We beg you:
- to reply positively and without delay to the pleas of M. Christian
Prud'homme and his comrades,
- to submit his case to an independent judicial authority, along with
all the cases which have been laid before the army (and those which
will be), and
- to set aside a share of the French defense budget, which is
unfortunately increasing,
- to pay for the medical care and the pensions to which these veterans
have a right.
SIGNATURE:
OCCUPATION, AWARDS:
COUNTRY:
NGO, INSTITUTION: