Italian Military Illnesses in Balkans Spark Riva City Council Motion

The alarming case of Italian military personnel involved in the Balkan War who became seriously ill upon returning to Italy, and in some cases even died, has reached the Riva City Council.

Salvador Valandro’s Motion

To bring attention to the issue that has caused widespread concern and outrage across Italy, a motion has been presented by Salvador Valandro.

“Dozens of Italian military young men — the motion states — engaged in the former Yugoslavia are falling ill or, worse, dying. Most of them are young men my age, some are already fathers. They are being killed by weapons that I find deeply grotesque and absurd to call ‘friendly’.”

The city council is asked to intervene with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the President of the Republic to ensure the protection of the health and lives of soldiers and civilian volunteers involved in the former Yugoslavia, and subsequently request the immediate withdrawal of the military contingent still deployed.

Requests to Authorities and Bomb Investigations

Furthermore, a detailed report on the state of the bombs dropped over Garda should be requested from all relevant Italian and foreign authorities.

Finally, part of the funds allocated to ex-combatants’ associations should be directed to the families of young soldiers who died from causes still unknown in the Balkans, and, in agreement with other Garda municipalities, part of the contributions should be allocated to the Garda Community to commission a technical investigation into the actual safety of the NATO bombs lying on the bottom of the lake.