Europe facing ecological disaster
Pancevo, April 16, 1999

It is my duty and obligation to inform the domestic and
internationalpublic that on 15th April 1999 at 22:40 NATO forces heavily bombarded the plants of the Petrochemical Complex in Pancevo which were in regular operation.

Installations and equipment of the Vinyl Chloride Monomer plant and
Ethylene plant were directly hit. Indirectly, heavy and destructive
explosions damaged the Chlor-alkali plant and Polyvinylchloride plant and
buildings insidethe complex as well as a large number of civilian houses
and flats in the surrounding area. The fire broke out and huge quantities
of toxic matters such as chlorine, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride
monomer flowed out. The transformer stations were also heavily damaged and
very toxic transformer oil flowed out. Unfortunately but unavoidably a
large number of people were injured and intoxicated.

At this moment we do not know the exact number of intoxicated and injured
civilians who were evacuated. Due to the power failure and utilities and
auxiliary fluids interruption a large quantity of combustible, explosive
and toxic matters remained trapped in the equipment, installations and
tanks. It will take a lot of time to drain and evacuate all those matters
from the plants before the plants could be considered safe for a wide
surrounding area. The plants have been heavily damaged and cannot be put in
operation.

According to all the terms and rules of warfare accepted and followed so
far, the plants of chemical process industries of this type have never been
military targets and objects of strikes.

The range of products of "HIP Petrohemija" d.p. Pancevo is of extremely
civilian nature and bombardment of these plants represents the worst war crime and
it reveals genocidal intentions of the aggressor. Therefore, we call upon the
petrochemical producers, licencors and engineering houses all over the
world to raise their voice and warn those who give orders for bombing of
the danger and catastrophic consequences which might be caused by bombing
of this kind of plants.

HIP PETROHEMIJA (Pancevo petro chemical complex)
Dr Slobodan Tresac