http://counterpunch.com/leonardi10092009.htmlNuking the Mediterranean
Ships of Poison
As reported in the Calabria daily newspaper “Calabria Ora” by director Paolo Pollichieni, 55 are the number of ships confirmed by Italian navy admiral and chief of Italian intelligence organization AISE (formerly SISMI), Bruno Branicoforte; 55 Ships containing a toxic and dangerous mix of radioactive and other industrial contaminants that were traded in the international traffic of the world’s hazardous wastes on the high seas. Others unofficially talk of upwards to 140 ships. Only NATO knows for sure but has not yet revealed this information to the public, and who knows if they ever will? Now these 55 ships, cargos of waste aboard and possibly seeping into the waters of the Mediterranean, are said to be lying on the sea floor, intentionally sunk across international waters over the past twenty years. Branicoforte made his affirmation to the Italian parliamentary committee for the Security of the Republic, Copsair on the 25th of September.
The threat to public health is alarming to the coastal population of Italy as it should be to all of the 23 countries that border the Mediterranean Basin. Health reports from the Region of Calabria show elevated cases of cancerous tumors, especially among the younger population along the coasts. The culprits of this International tragedy: organized criminal elements, the corporate producers of this waste and the government’s that knowingly allowed this contamination of the sea to unfold; are now gathering forces and talking of confirmations of these ships and a clean-up of the Sea.
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The regional fishing industry, especially around Cetraro, is being harshly affected and there is talk of public aid to families feeling the economic brunt from the crash in fish consumption. There is also concern about a blow to the tourism industry. This area is usually overrun with tourists during the month of August and many families here base their livelihoods around the tourist industry. Contaminated land from illegal dumping of hazardous wastes is also a large problem in this area and a threat to local agricultural practices, confounding an already ugly situation.
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At the European level there is interest coming from the European Parliament to address the horrible reality coming to light here. The Calabrian Environmental Assessor Greco will lead an Italian delegation to Strausburg in order to further elaborate the gravity of this situation of the Ships of Poison to the European Community on the 20th of October.
Throughout the world there is growing attention and focus on this story while at the local level there is a mass mobilization underway. On the 24th of October organizers are planning an International day of action with a large demonstration in the small city of Amantea near the river Oliva. This area is largely seen here as ground zero for this horrid reality. Along the shores of Amantea in 1990, a ship called the Jolly Rosso, laiden with toxic and radioactive waste, beached ashore after a failed attempt to sink it off the coast. The contents of the Jolly Rosso were then dumped on land nearby. The area suffers from elevated deaths due to leucemia and cancerous tumors thought to be linked to findings of the highly toxic Cesium 137, Mercury and other poisonous substances contaminating the land, river and sea. On the 24th of October it is hoped that this situation will be given the attention it deserves and that a global cooperation may begin to heal the waters of our beautiful Mediterranean Sea. We hope this for our children and children’s children.
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this is horrible. the men who dreamed up the scam to sink these toxic ships should rot in prison.
kids and cancer, what a sad thing.
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