06/21/2006
print
send
printsend
The British Minister of Defence ceases to recognise an indemnity for the victims of the Gulf War
'Gulf Syndrome' no longer exists, wiped off the slate by the English Minister
of Defence. The decision not to recognise the invalidity of one of the ex-soldiers
who, in 1991, participated in the invasion of Iraq, overturns the historic sentence
of an English court which last November opened the path to compensation; and at
the same time halts the payment of the pension supplement allocated to the victims
of the syndrome, between 2 and 6 thousand soldiers.
Last year, for the first time in 15 years, the Pensions Tribunal, the British
institution which judges the applicants’ suitability for compensation, established
the existence of the so-called 'Gulf Syndrome', a severely debilitating disease.
After the war, approximately 6,000 soldiers reported pathologies which could be
traced to it: cancer, neurological disturbances, chronic fatigue, stress, pains
in the bone-joints and skin rashes. The Minister of Defence was forced to acknowledge
its existence and did not present any appeal against the sentence. Today came
the about-face: the sickness of Mark McGreevy, a soldier who was receiving a pension
allowance for his spine which is slowly disintegrating, has nothing whatsoever
to do with Gulf Syndrome. The president of the Pensions Tribunal, Harcourt Concannon,
wrote infuriated to the Minister of Defence, accusing him of deliberately wandering
off the terms of the sentence. "This is a unilateral decision - states Concannon,
quoted by the 'Guardian' newspaper -, the Minister of Defence has no authority
either to interfere with the decision of the court or to manipulate the terms
of the matter".
Pulling the rabbit out of the hat. The spokesperson for the Minister of Defence in the House of Lords, Lord Drayson,
during a parliamentary interrogation, reported that, for the government, it is
not 'practical' to make the sentence of the Pensions Tribunal executive, in that
this would mean asking all 53,000 soldiers deployed in the Gulf if they suffer
from the Syndrome. The denial of the existence of the disease by the Minister
of Defence has understandably ignited the indignation of the association of the
families of veterans of the Gulf. In sending their remonstrance to the then-commander
of the Gulf mission, Lord Craig of Radley, the families have accused the Minister
of Defence of pulling off the latest conjuring trick, throwing doubts over not
only the payment of the current pension indemnities, but also those already paid
out in previous years.
Last year, for the first time in 15 years, the Pensions Tribunal, the British
institution which judges the applicants’ suitability for compensation, established
the existence of the so-called 'Gulf Syndrome', a severely debilitating disease.
After the war, approximately 6,000 soldiers reported pathologies which could be
traced to it: cancer, neurological disturbances, chronic fatigue, stress, pains
in the bone-joints and skin rashes. The Minister of Defence was forced to acknowledge
its existence and did not present any appeal against the sentence. Today came
the about-face: the sickness of Mark McGreevy, a soldier who was receiving a pension
allowance for his spine which is slowly disintegrating, has nothing whatsoever
to do with Gulf Syndrome. The president of the Pensions Tribunal, Harcourt Concannon,
wrote infuriated to the Minister of Defence, accusing him of deliberately wandering
off the terms of the sentence. "This is a unilateral decision - states Concannon,
quoted by the 'Guardian' newspaper -, the Minister of Defence has no authority
either to interfere with the decision of the court or to manipulate the terms
of the matter".Pulling the rabbit out of the hat. The spokesperson for the Minister of Defence in the House of Lords, Lord Drayson,
during a parliamentary interrogation, reported that, for the government, it is
not 'practical' to make the sentence of the Pensions Tribunal executive, in that
this would mean asking all 53,000 soldiers deployed in the Gulf if they suffer
from the Syndrome. The denial of the existence of the disease by the Minister
of Defence has understandably ignited the indignation of the association of the
families of veterans of the Gulf. In sending their remonstrance to the then-commander
of the Gulf mission, Lord Craig of Radley, the families have accused the Minister
of Defence of pulling off the latest conjuring trick, throwing doubts over not
only the payment of the current pension indemnities, but also those already paid
out in previous years.Luca Galassi
Topic:
Related articles:
Most discussed topics:
Most frequently used keywords:
