Vietnam Condemns US Court's Dismissal on Agent Orange Petition

Vietnam Condemns US Court's Dismissal on Agent Orange Petition 

Vietnam is indignant at the US Federal Court's decision to turn down the lawsuit filed by Vietnamese Agent Orange victims against 37 US chemical firms, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dzung on March 11.

"The Vietnamese people are extremely discontented by the ruling of the US Federal Court in the Brooklyn District," Dzung said to respond to foreign and local reporters' queries about Vietnam's reaction to the judge's dismissal.

The lawsuit is a legitimate action and defendant companies must bear legal accountability for the chemical's victims, who are not only American veterans but also the Vietnamese, the diplomat said. 

"Whatever the ruling is, it cannot change the truth that the Agent Orange/Dioxin used by the US army during the Vietnam war has caused severe consequences to humans and the environment in Vietnam,” Dzung announced. The fight for justice for Agent Orange/Dioxin victims will continue drawing great attention and gaining strong support from the world community, he added

Also, many individuals and organizations in and outside Vietnam have condemned the decision by the US Federal court to dismiss the lawsuits of Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims.

The Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee (VFFCC), on Saturday, issued a statement condemning the wrong ruling of Judge Jack Weistein.

The ruling is against conscience and justice and it disregards the world's progressive viewpoint regarding people's rights to life and interests, according to the statement.

The Agent Orange/dioxin defoliants that the US troops used during their aggressive war have caused severe consequences to humans and the environment in Vietnam. Millions of Agent Orange victims are suffering from fatal diseases and tens of thousands of their offspring have been born with congenital defects and live in untold physical and emotional pains, said the VFFCC.

"His [Judge Weistern] verdict is completely unreasonable and unjust," said Nguyen Trong Nhan, vice president of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin a day after the decision.

“The ruling by the US federal court shows its irresponsibility toward the miseries of millions of Agent Orange victims and their families in Vietnam,” stressed the association later in a declaration. "We will pursue the suit until justice is done," the declaration said.

At a discussion on the sidelines of the International conference on effects of Agent Orange/Dioxin in Paris on March 11-12, a number of participants expressed their disappointment at the US legal system when they heard that the lawsuit was dismissed.

Jacques Danois, a former French reporter who was in Vietnam from 1963 to 1975, said that many reporters at that time said the Agent Orange not only defoliated the jungles but also killed people. He added that the dismissal of the lawsuit by Judge Weinstein was unreasonable and unfair, and stressed that the world community should support Vietnamese Agent Orange victims in the lawsuit.

Lawyers representing Vietnamese Agent Orange victims said they plan to appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeal.

The lawsuit should only be decided by the US Supreme Court, said William H. Goodman, one of the plaintiff's lawyers in the lawsuit filed by Vietnamese Agent Orange victims against 37 US chemical companies that produced the chemicals.

Jonathan Moore, representing the plaintiff's lawyer delegation, said although the war had been over for 30 years, Vietnamese victims are still being affected dioxin poisoning. Mr. Moore said he would pursue the lawsuit to the very end in order to bring justice to the Vietnamese victims.

Late January last year, three Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange filed their suit, accusing 37 US chemical firms of producing and supplying toxic defoliants used by the US army in Vietnam.

From 1961 to 1971, US troops sprayed 83 million liters of defoliants including 366 kilograms of dioxin manufactured by the chemical producers in 80,000 villages and communes in the south of Vietnam, directly affecting four million local residents.  

As many as 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to toxic chemicals, of whom three million were affected by Agent Orange, a herbicide that contains dioxin, one of the most toxic substances known to man.

P.V