Niger To Sue U.S. - Over 2 Billion

NGOs to sue US over WMD claims
From correspondents in Niamey
January 14, 2007

SOME 30 non-governmental organisations in Niger said overnight they are going to sue the United States for nearly two billion dollars for "unfairly accusing" Niger of selling uranium to the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
"Our lawyers are about to file a lawsuit against the US calling for damages of about 1000 billion CFA francs ($2.42 billion dollars) for the harm suffered" by the country, Moustapha Kadi, president of the Collective of organisations in Niger defending the right to energy (CODDAE).
The lawsuit by the collective will be filed at either French or Belgian courts, Kadi added.
In January 2003, US President George W. Bush accused Saddam of having bought uranium from Niger to make weapons of mass destruction.
The Niger collective said in a statement that investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), world media and US officials, all concluded that it was a "false accusation" against Niger.
That false information was used by Bush "to invade Iraq," said the collective's statement, which also called for support from Niger's President Mamadou Tandja, who back in 2003 said the US allegations were "harming Niger's image".
Niger is the world's third-largest producer of uranium with about nine percent of the global market, according to 2003 figures.
The country's two uranium deposits have been mined for 40 years by the French group Areva, number one in civil nuclear energy.

Declaration from World Uranium Summit

The following was posted on a VFP group board by a very dedicated Activist as to the use of Uranium and Depleted Uranium.
I really feel this should be seen by many and is reason enough to post it up in hopes others will sign on and pass along, and get involved!

Check out, consider to sign and forward the petitions in the end of the message, thank you!

DECLARATION OF THE INDIGENOUS WORLD URANIUM SUMMIT
Window Rock, Navajo Nation, USA
December 2, 2006

We, the Peoples gathered at the Indigenous World
Uranium Summit, at this critical time of
intensifying nuclear threats to Mother Earth and
all life, demand a worldwide ban on uranium
mining, processing, enrichment, fuel use, and
weapons testing and deployment, and nuclear waste
dumping on Native Lands.


Past, present and future generations of
Indigenous Peoples have been disproportionately
affected by the international nuclear weapons and
power industry. The nuclear fuel chain poisons
our people, land, air and waters and threatens
our very existence and our future generations.
Nuclear power is not a solution to global
warming. Uranium mining, nuclear energy
development and international agreements (e.g.,
the recent U.S.-India nuclear cooperation treaty)
that foster the nuclear fuel chain violate our
basic human rights and fundamental natural laws
of Mother Earth, endangering our traditional
cultures and spiritual well-being.


We reaffirm the Declaration of the World Uranium
Hearing in Salzburg, Austria, in 1992, that
"uranium and other radioactive minerals must
remain in their natural location." Further, we
stand in solidarity with the Navajo Nation for
enacting the Diné Natural Resources Protection
Act of 2005, which bans uranium mining and
processing and is based on the Fundamental Laws
of the Dine. And we dedicate ourselves to a
nuclear-free future.


Indigenous Peoples are connected spiritually and
culturally to our Mother, the Earth. Accordingly,
we endorse and encourage development of renewable
energy sources that sustain - not destroy -
Indigenous lands and the Earth's ecosystems.


In tribute to our ancestors, we continue
centuries of resistance against colonialism. We
recognize the work, courage, dedication and
sacrifice of those individuals from Indigenous
Nations and from Australia, Brazil, Canada,
China, Germany, India, Japan, the United States,
and Vanuatu, who participated in the Summit. We
further recognize the invaluable work of those
who were honored at the Nuclear-Free Future
Awards ceremony on December 1, 2006. And we will
continue to support activists worldwide in their
nonviolent efforts to stop uranium development.


We are determined to share the knowledge we have
gained at this Summit with the world. In the
weeks and months ahead, we will summarize and
disseminate the testimonies, traditional
Indigenous knowledge, and medical and scientific
evidence that justify a worldwide ban on uranium
development. We will enunciate specific plans of
action at the tribal, local, national and
international levels to support Native resistance
to the nuclear fuel chain. And we will pursue
legal and political redress for all past, current
and future impacts of the nuclear fuel chain on
Indigenous Peoples and their resources.


--
Jamie Kneen
Communications & Outreach Coordinator ofc. (613) 569-3439
MiningWatch Canada cell: (613) 761-2273
250 City Centre Ave., Suite 508 fax: (613) 569-5138
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 6K7 e-mail: jamie@miningwatch.ca
Canada Mining Watch
Skype: jamiekneen

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Campaign: International Petition to Ban Uranium Weapons

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