New York - Brussels, September 27 2003 - Coinciding with the much anticipated U.N. report on weapons inspections in Iraq, this morning an international group of Citizens Inspectors faxed a startling report to all members of the U.N. Security Council in New York. The report http://www.motherearth.org/nuke/info/volkelreport.doc gives very clear evidence of the secret and illegal deployment of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) in The Netherlands. It condemns the blatant use of double standards by the UN Security Council concerning WMD. The council's 15 member nations will hold closed-door discussions on the U.N. report on Iraq next Wednesday and will discuss the next steps. The citizens inspectors, being part of a global movement for U.N. treaties banning all WMD, hope for the U.N. Security Council members to realize fully how their credibility is once again at stake.

The inspectors, affiliated with the NGO For Mother Earth, are today also particularly alerted by the fact that the U.S. seems to be thinking about the unthinkable: It is preparing for the possible use of nuclear weapons against Iraq. http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/suncommentary/la-op-arkin26jan26,0,5657169.story?coll=la-home2-utilities

On January 18th 2003 the international team of weapons inspectors was denied access to the NATO airforce base (AFB) of Volkel in the Netherlands which is suspected to harbor a stockpile of illegal US weapons of mass destruction. The Dutch authorities ruled that weapons inspectors coming within 5 meters of the military fence are to be arrested immediately. 104 citizens inspectors who persisted in attempts to accomplish their mission were arrested and treated as criminals, according to one of the spokespersons. The report gives overwhelming evidence of non-cooperation and the repression by Dutch authorities concerning the illegal stockpile of WMD on its territory. According to unconfirmed reports eleven US B-61 tactical nuclear bombs are deployed at this Dutch airforce base. None of the military personnel would cooperate or answer any of the questions of the inspectors, stating they had received the order not to talk to any civilian. Also, the Dutch police officers complied with the order of secrecy. However at times they also admitted they did not have any knowledge nor access themselves to this sensitive and classified information.

After the arrest the inspectors were handled as cattle in a freezing warehouse inside the NATO base being searched, photographed and stripped of pens, notepads, portables, food, etc. "We are being treated as criminals" declared Pol D