Justice and conscience stand by Agent Orange victims
Thousands of people all over the world have sent letters and signatures to express their feelings and support for the Vietnamese Agent Orange/Dioxin victims' lawsuit against the US chemical companies for compensations for their suffering.
They are replying to the call from a British man, Len Aldis, Secretary of the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society (BVFS) who set up an online site on http://www.petitiononline.com/AOVN/petition.html to gain support for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims. He called upon individuals, organisations, nations, and all who love peace and justice around the world to raise their voices in support of the victims and their demands that the US authorities admit its responsibility.
Len Aldis in 2000 also sent an open letter to former US President Bill Clinton, the first US President to concede the harmful impact of Agent Orange and agree compensation for US veterans who were affected by illness caused by the toxic chemicals when they were in Vietnam. In the letter, he asked Clinton to admit and remedy the situation caused by the chemicals use by the US on the Vietnamese people.
Early this year, Len Aldis sent another open letter to US Secretary Colin Powell, who is entitled to disability payments for his prostate cancer relating to the use of chemicals by US forces in Vietnam, calling on him to join with the many US Vietnam veterans and others who have been and are campaigning for the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange to get similar compensation.
Standing by Vietnamese victims are many others, one of them is US Prof. Kenneth J. Herrmann, Director of the SUNY Brockport Vietnam Program. The professor sent a letter to call on Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin to make the world more aware of their plight.
There are also more than 60 scientists from many countries who through the Stockholm Declaration at the 2002 Environmental Conference held in the Swedish capital called on all nations to actively support the reconstruction of three countries -Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The Declaration said: "Years have passed since the conclusion of the wars that for decades tormented Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, but throughout the region, innocent victims are still suffering... Much has been done by the people of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to assist victims, reclaim land, and rebuild villages, towns and infrastructure. The people and governments of those countries have demonstrated a generous spirit towards former enemies and do not seek to perpetuate the hostility of war. But they do seek assistance. The world community, especially the US government along with those corporations and other countries that were directly or indirectly involved in the production and use of the weapons at issue, must respond to that appeal by addressing to day the enduring consequences of the past in a spirit of restorative justice."
The Vietnam Society for Agent Orange Victims since 1998 has received millions USD in aid by the Red Cross organisation from the US, Switzerland, England, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and many others. More than 200,000 victims and 700,000 of their relatives have benefited from their support. Earlier this year, the Republic of Korea War Veterans' Society decided to donate US $1.5 million to a project to build the Vietnam-RoK Friendship Village for victims in central Quang Nam province.
"We believe that justice and conscience are on our side in the US and everywhere around the world when we lodged the lawsuit in the US court," said Prof. Dr. Nguyen Trong Nhan, Deputy President of the Society for Agent Orange Victims.
The petitions were sent to a court in the US on January 30, 2004. The lawsuit was filed initially by six victims in triplicate and the society will take part as a representative for other victims. The plaintiffs claim the US chemical companies violated international law to get rich illicitly by producing and supplying the herbicide containing dioxin to the US army for spraying in Vietnam, causing a serious aftermath. Nhan said: "The society and victims filed the case not only for their lives but also in the interests of the victims in many other countries, including the US."
According to research carried out by scientists from Columbia University and published in "Nature" magazine of April 2003, over 80 million litres of the chemicals were sprayed over the Southern area of Vietnam during the war, including 366 kg dioxin. (VNA)
