photo's of the action in Brussels on the 4th of
November
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| 4th November 2005 INTERNATIONAL ACTION DAY The Belgian Coalition ‘Stop Uranium Wapens’ organized a Uranium Weapons Mystery tour through Brussels ‘For a Uranium Weapons Free World.’ A group of people gathered at the Central Station in Brussels. During this mystery tour a delegation visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense and explained the demands and gave some info on the Belgian campaign: - until now one Belgian bank withdraw from investing in uranium weapons production - 71 belgian organisations undersigned the mission statement of the Belgian Coalition 'Stop uranium wapens' - 22 belgian organisations are part of the belgian coalition - a bill has been introduced in the belgian Senate,a hearing with experts from ICBUW will be planned soon about Europ: - the European Commission added U weapons to the list of controversial weapons - the European Parliament hosted a 2 days conference on u weapons, the issue is on the agenda of different committees - members of the EP from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, France, England promised support for the campaign - the Intergroup for Peace Initiatives of the EP puts the issue on their agenda - lobbying in the EP goes on ------------------- The ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense were asked the following: We would like to hear from you what steps the Belgian government has made in the past year to halt the use and spread of uranium weapons. What measures have been undertaken to improve the situation for the victims of the chemically toxic and radiological effects of these weapons. We would also like to know if the government has plans to take a position at the international level on the production, stockpiling, transport, testing and use of uranium weapons. Which position will Belgium take during important meetings of the OSCE, UN and NATO. Demands of the Belgian Coalition: - that Belgium will, by no means including third parties be involved in the design, the production, the purchase, the testing, the transport, the storage and the use of weapons that contain uranium* - that Belgium works on an international level in order to prohibit the design, the production, the purchase, the testing, the transport, the storage and the storage of uranium weapons - that Belgium urges NATO to map the regions targeted with uranium weapons and the spots where these weapons are stored. These regions must be made public - that the Belgian government deploys no military and humanitarian missions to uranium-contaminated sites - that Belgium plays a pioneering role in establishing a ?total ban on uranium weapons?, as it did in the course of the campaign against landmines - that Belgium bears a part of the costs of decontamination, including the costs for medical assistance - that Belgium takes the initiative for the foundation of an aid-fund compensating the victimised populations. * 'Uranium?: 'depleted', 'non-depleted', and uranium 'contaminated with fission products from the nuclear industry' -------------------------------------------- After the delegation was received at the Ministry of Defense, the activists who did not take part in the meeting continued their ‘mystery tour’ of Brussels, visiting locations related to the use, financing and production of Depleted Uranium Weapons. The third stop on the tour (after the two ministries that we visited in the morning) was the Belgian headquarters of ING bank. This large international banking group, based in the Netherlands, currently invests over US$200 million in two producers of uranium weapons- ATK and General Dynamics. This is the money of customers who save and invest with the bank. When we arrived at the bank, we sealed off the main entrance, as a ‘zone contaminated with depleted uranium’. We were able to inform many people working in the building, and their visitors, of the damage that the investments were causing. The director who came to speak to us seemed very sure that ING had a policy on this kind of investments, and advised us to check the ING website for more information. He said he would convey our concern about the ongoing investments in DU weapon producers to the board. Next stop was Dexia, also an investor in General Dynamics. The receptionist was a little reluctant to allow us to enter the bank, and it was lucky that we were able to follow someone into the building through the security doors. We had a short demonstration in the lobby of the building, but it seemed that no one in any position of responsibility was willing to come and meet with us. Changing course slightly, we headed to the British embassy, to see if they would explain their use of DU weapons during the war in Iraq. They shut the door when they saw us coming, leaving us to have a demonstration on the pavement outside the embassy. Again, we made it quite clear why we were there, and the man who eventually opened the door to explain that we should have made an appointment told us that the British Foreign Office (ministry of foreign affairs) would receive a report on this ‘incident’. We had even less luck reaching the US embassy, as the police stopped us from even entering the street that the embassy is on. A small delegation was able to meet with someone responsible for security, while the rest of the activists informed people passing by the busy cross roads, with banners and leaflets. The result: lots of attention for car drivers and pedestrians, and another ’incident report’, this time sent to Washington. Our luck finally ran out when we tried to reach the French embassy. The police informed us that we would be arrested if we tried to reach the front door of the embassy, which is located in the ?neutral zone? where demonstrations are forbidden. The exclusion zone also seemed to be valid for a French citizen, who was in effect denied access to her own embassy. We stood shortly at the back entrance of the embassy (already closed for the weekend) while we debated with the police, before heading to the Beurs to join the exhibition. photo’s of the action on: www.motherearth.org/du David Heller Ria Verjauw |