John Gauci
Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange have lodged the first ever lawsuit of its kind in a US court. Six victims initially filed the lawsuit against a consortium of petrochemical companies on January 30, however, the Viet Nam Society for Agent Orange Victims is now representing more than 100 victims in the case.
The plaintiffs claim US chemical companies violated international law in order to get rich by producing and supplying Agent Orange, to the US army for spraying in Vietnam, causing a serious aftermath.
More than 3 million Vietnamese are suffering from diseases caused by Agent Orange. Many have died, and many more will die. US and Australian military personnel also fell victim to the chemical while serving in Vietnam. At a meeting in Hanoi on August 10, Dr. Nguyen Trong Nhan, the deputy president of the Society for Agent Orange Victims said, "The society and victims filed the case not only for their life 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 the April 2003 Nature magazine, over 80 million litres of the chemicals were sprayed over the southern area of Vietnam during the war, including 366 kilograms of dioxin.
As of August 10, more than 73,100 people worldwide signed the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin online petition. Many Vietnam war veterans from the US have also signed the petition.
The petition calls upon the US president, government and chemical companies to accept responsibility for the damage caused by their actions and products, and to pay full compensation to the victims. The petition was sent to the court in the US on January 30, however supporters are encouraged to sign on online.
British born Len Aldis, Secretary of the Britain-Viet Nam Friendship Society (BVFS) set up the online site on <http://www.petitiononline.com/AOVN/petition.html> to gain support for Vietnamese Agent Orange victims.
He calls 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 authority admit its responsibility.
In 2000, Aldis sent an open letter to then 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, 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.
From Green Left Weekly, August 18, 2004.
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