THE NATIONAL ASBESTOS OBSERVATORY AND THE ACADEMY OF LEGALITY HAVE PROMOTED THE FIRST NATIONAL CONFERENCE “DEADS TO HIDE – THE BALKAN SYNDROME”. THE SEMINAR WAS HELD ON FRIDAY 27 SEPTEMBER 2024, IN UDINE, AT PALAZZO KECHLER
In the late 1990s, the Italian military participated in the NATO mission in Kosovo. Unfortunately, our soldiers were not aware of the risks of exposure to depleted uranium, used in ammunition and in shelling to penetrate armored vehicles.
After returning to Italy, some of them began to feel increasingly tired, experiencing severe joint pain and breathing problems. At first, doctors thought it was post-traumatic stress, common among war veterans, but the boys’ symptoms progressively worsened. Within a few years, they were diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia.
Dozens of other Italian veterans, who had participated in peacekeeping missions in the Balkans, began to show similar symptoms: tumors, blood diseases and other serious pathologies. Today it is estimated that there are more than 7 thousand sick people and over 400 dead soldiers.
The testimony of Alpine infantry lieutenant Sergio Cabigiosu
This story is the same as that of the Alpine infantry lieutenant Sergio Cabigiosusuffering from chronic myeloid leukemia due to exposure to carcinogenic substances. In 2001, the command sends the officer on a mission to Sarajevoin the area of the former Tito Barak barracksas part of the operation “Joint Forge”.
There the Alpine lieutenant was exposed to heavy metal nanoparticles and asbestos fibres sprayed by depleted uranium bombing. In 2018, Cabigiosu, at just 44 years old, became seriously ill: doctors diagnosed him with chronic myeloid leukemia.
Cabigiosu, like many others, decided to get high spokesman of their situation, demanding justice and explanations from the Italian government and the military authorities. These requests turned into one legal battle which involved lawyers, scientific experts and public opinion. The Alpine lieutenant then turned to the lawyer. Ezio Bonanni, president ofNational Asbestos Observatory (BECAUSE).
After a long legal dispute, on 10 July, the Verona court recognized the status of Victim of duty and ordering the Ministries of Defense and the Interior to compensate him. The lawyer Bonanni highlighted the importance of this sentence, which has «burden of proof reversed»establishing that it is up to the State to prove that exposure to radioactive substances and heavy metals was not the cause of the disease.
True justice is needed
«As president of the Academy – said the director Paola Veglianteipresident ofAcademy of Legality -, I have been alongside our soldiers for 24 years and having also participated as a speaker gave me the opportunity to express my further closeness to all of them, trying to make it clear that only by wanting true Justice and only by believing in it can we improve. In the name of their work as Armed Forces but above all with respect for the lives of each of us”.
Superficial and negligent management by military institutions
«Seven thousand soldiers have fallen ill and five hundred have lost their lives due to exposure to toxic substances during missions»explained Bonanni. «It is the direct consequence of superficial and negligent management by military institutions.”
Sergio Cabigiosu’s fight, like that of Colonel Carlo Calcagni, has become a symbol of the difficulties that many soldiers faced in seeking answers to the hidden risks of war.
Never give up
The Colonel Carlo Calcagnione of the speakers at the conference and a victim of depleted uranium contamination, shared his daily struggle against a degenerative disease caused by exposure to toxic substances during the mission in Bosnia. His testimony is a living reminder of the tragic consequences faced by the Italian military and their unwavering determination not to surrender.
«The substances, heavy metals, and vaccines administered in close proximity have weakened the military, exposing them to very serious risks»added the lawyer. Bonanni then highlighted the lack of in-depth medical evaluations before and after the missions.
The “Balkan Syndrome” it also affects civilians
The ONA president also underlined another no less important aspect of the “Balkan Syndrome” and that is the consequences on the civilian population of the theaters of war. «The problem does not only concern the military – Bonanni said – but also civilians and future generations who will live in regions contaminated by these toxic substances.”
Not only that: the same problem also involves information professionals in the field. Like the Rai journalist Franco Di Mare. The war correspondent was in the Balkans during the same period. And, in Sarajevo, it was in the same places where Cabigiosu was employed and breathed the same contaminated air. Di Mare passed away on May 17, 2024.
The seminar
The seminar “Deaths to Hide – The Balkan Syndrome”, was promoted by the ONA and the Academy of Legality, chaired by Dr. Paola Vegliantei.
Also among the speakers, the physicist and nanopathologist Antonietta M. Gattithe head of the national victims of duty department of the SUM union, Fabio Carlone e Mariano Pecorarofather of the Folgore paratrooper Emanueleknown as Pek, deceased.
The meeting was held on Friday 27 September, in Udine, at Palazzo Kechler.