BBC
News
Tuesday,
26 March, 2002, 20:52 GMT
German
soldiers sue over cancer
The soldiers worked in both the former East and West of Germany
Former German
soldiers who say they contracted cancer through operating military radar
machinery have launched lawsuits against the government, and plan further
action against the US manufacturers.
The army
systematically ignored every safety precaution
Lawyer Reiner
Geulen, representing 773 alleged victims or their families, said he had
brought a first set of suits forward due to the army's negligence and
the defence ministry's failure to pay compensation.
The men
had operated radar equipment for either the West German or East German
armies between the 1950s and the 1980s. The majority of the plaintiffs
currently suffer from cancer.
Mr Geulen
is seeking minimum damages of 60,000 euros ($52,770) per person in six
test cases which have been filed in two regional German courts. "The
army systematically ignored every safety precaution," he told a news
conference. "The behaviour of the defence minister towards the victims
has been shabby."
Dietmar
Glanar, a 54-year-old former soldier who had his hand amputated in 1990
due to bone cancer, appeared by his lawyer's side at the news conference.
"If
I had worn a lead glove, I would still have my hand," he said.
The German
defence ministry denies Mr Geulen's allegations, and says it is trying
to deal with the applications for damages as quickly as possible.
It says
it has received 1,600 requests from radar operators, of which 500 have
been processed.
Eight former
soldiers have been awarded monthly payments.
International
workers
Mr Geulen
is also to launch a $350m lawsuit in May on behalf of 400 former soldiers
against the US manufacturers of the machinery. It alleges that the equipment
was imperfectly set up and lacking in adequate shielding devices. The
manufacturers include Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Lucent.
Some of
the soldiers involved in the legal action against the German Government
worked with radar machines built by Dutch, British and Soviet manufacturers,
but their names have not been mentioned.
Mr Geulen
said he expected US, Dutch and Greek victims who worked on the US machines
to take part in the legal action.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1895179.stm
Informant:
Robert Riedlinger
All good
wishes for Christmas and a healthy 2003, once again, from Citizens' Initiative
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