Although denied for several months, it has now become evident that NATO has used depleted uranium (DU) weapons in the Balkan War. DU has caused cancer in a number of people exposed to its radiation in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy.

The TEHRAN TIMES broke the news that uranium radiation had been observed in Kosovo, but the Western media did not pay any attention to the issue -- probably intentionally.

After the victims of radiation have been identified, this "non-issue" is becoming an issue. A team from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) recommended last November that 112 sites identified by NATO as having been struck by U.S. jets during the 1998 allied air strikes against Yugoslavia be marked. Major Steven Shappell, chief spokesman for KFOR peacekeeping force, said, "They have not been marked," without saying why.

The first criticism goes to the Western media because they remain silent. The second criticism also goes to them, because even today they are not the ones to take the initiative. Rather it is the medical community that has revealed the case.

NATO must also be blamed for its failure to mark the sites targeted by U.S. jets. Victims who were exposed during the war are suffering. What is most unfortunate is that sites that have not been marked are now a death trap for the present inhabitants. The tragedy is that those exposed to radiation will transfer their condition to future generations.

As soon as something goes wrong in a Third World country international organizations are suddenly alerted to find the guilty, and either send him to the gallows or put him behind bars under the label, "war criminal".

Is the use of DU less criminal than genocide in Bosnia, Kosovo or Chile? Is the use of DU ammunitions not an instance of war crime? If the answer is "No," we have nothing more to say. If the answer is "Yes," is there a sober conscience in the West to mobilize public opinion and call for the trial of those who used DU munitions in Kosovo?