Vietnam to Continue Pursuing Lawsuit for Agent Orange Victims' Justice

Vietnam to Continue Pursuing Lawsuit for Agent Orange Victims' Justice

Interview with Gen. Dang Vu Hiep, President of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA)

What is VAVA's reaction to the US court's dismissal of its lawsuit against 37 US chemical companies on March 10?

It's an unfair and irrational decision. It's irrational because as early as the 1990s, the US Academy of Sciences and the US Institute of Medicine confirmed Agent Orange is directly related to 13 human diseases. In 1996, then US President Bill Clinton had to apologise to US veterans, recognising some more diseases related to the toxic substance, and instructed the Minister of Veteran Affairs to provide compensation policies for Vietnam veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange/Dioxin. The court's verdict is irrational and unjust since the US Government already has Agent Orange/Dioxin victims among its Vietnam veterans, and the Government of New Zealand has also apologised to its Vietnam veterans for the their exposure to the substance. There's no sense in saying that Vietnamese people who received exposure to the toxic chemical aren't intoxicated.  

The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin announces that we'll keep on pursuing the lawsuit until justice for our victims is served. It is for not only the life of Agent Orange/Dioxin victims in Vietnam, but also the legitimate rights of all Agent Orange/Dioxin victims in many other countries, including the United States.

Could you brief us about Vietnamese Agent Orange/Dioxin victims?

According to US scientists (Stellman et al, The extent and patterns of usage of Agent Orange and other herbicides in Vietnam, Nature magazine No. 422 dated 17 April 2003), from 1961 to 1971, the US army used about 80 million litres of defoliants, mostly Agent Orange, which contained nearly 400 kilograms of dioxin. Dioxin is extremely toxic to environment and human health. Just one nanogram, or 1/1000000000 of one gram, of dioxin can cause cancer and reproduction disorders which affect not only parents but also their children and grandchildren. 

The war has been over for 30 years, but 4.8 million Vietnamese people have so far been exposed to dioxin, of whom some three million are victims. Tens of thousands of people have died in agony. Many women either can't enjoy the happiness of being mothers or give birth to deformed children. Millions of people, including their unborn children and grandchildren, have to live with disease and in poverty because of cruel effects of Agent Orange. Most Agent Orange victims face financial difficulties. Many families have up to two or three children infected with diseases relating to Agent Orange. In spite of receiving care and assistance of the Vietnamese Government and many local and foreign organizations as well as individuals, Agent Orange/Dioxin victims are still the poorest among the poor, and the most miserable among the miserable.

What have Vietnam and the international community done to help Agent Orange/Dioxin victims?

Vietnam has established relevant committees to survey the consequences of chemical warfare and overcome them. In February 2000, the government issued policies regarding provision of financial assistance to Agent Orange/Dioxin victims.

Vietnam's Fund for Victims Agent Orange/Dioxin was established in July 1998 to mobilize support and assistance of local and foreign organisations and individuals for Agent Orange victims. Nearly 300,000 victims have enjoyed free medical checks-up and treatment, education, and vocational training, and received scholarships, houses and equipment for their daily life. The fund has received the support of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent, Red Cross societies of such countries as Norway, Germany, the United States, Denmark, Sweden and Spain, and many other foreign agencies. However, the communities' help is limited compared with victims' need, though little.

On 1 January 2004, the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin was set up.   On the 30^th of the same month, the association and several Vietnamese Agent Orange victims brought the suit against 37 US companies which produced defoliants to the US district court in Brooklyn, New York.

On 10 August 2004, Vietnam marked the first Agent Orange Day to call for local and international help for people exposed to Agent Orange/Dioxin, and collect signatures in support the lawsuit. We chose August 10 because on that day of 1961, the US air force exercised the first spraying round of defoliants in our country, in the central highlands province of Kon Tum.

To date, more than 11 million Vietnamese people have signed their support for Agent Orange victims. Len Aldis, Secetary of the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society, has received nearly 700,000 signatures from many countries after putting a petition in support of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims on the Internet at www.petitiononline.com/AOVN. He has already set letters to US President George Bush and the United Nations' Secretary General Kofi Annan to seek support for the victims.

In the letter sent to Kofi Annan, he wrote: "In 1984, American veterans of the Vietnam War took the chemical companies who manufactured Agent Orange to court. The companies settled by paying a sum of 180 million US dollars. Today, in a court in New York, the city that is also home to the building of the United Nations, a lawsuit has begun, brought by three Vietnamese seriously affected by Agent Orange. This lawsuit also speaks for the three million victims in Vietnam. The lawsuit may take a number of years before a judgment is reached… As Secretary General of the United Nations, we make this appeal to you, and through you, to all nations of the General Assembly. We are calling on the General Assembly to see that those responsible for manufacturing the chemicals, those who ordered their use on the people and land of southern Vietnam, accept their responsibilities and pay compensation for the damage they caused."

By the way, I repeated the statement made by Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh, former vice president of our country and VAVA honour chairman, in July 2004. "There is no reason for people who were exposed to the toxic substance, ate food and drank water containing it, not to be recognised as being poisoned and infected with related diseases, as people on the aircraft that sprayed the toxic substance have already received this recognition. We believe that the lawsuit against US chemical firms, with the wide support of the international community, including US public opinion, will certainly give us a victory."

• Reported by Dong Phong