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Hanoi, March 7th 2008
Appeal for Support to the Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims
by the Peace, Friendship and Solidarity Organizations of Vietnam:
- The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations
- The Vietnam Peace Committee
- The Vietnam Committee for Solidarity with the Afro-Asia & Latin America
- The Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation
- The Vietnam-USA Society
- The Vietnam-Britain Friendship Association
- The Vietnam-France Friendship Association
- The Vietnam-Germany Friendship Association
- The Vietnam-Spain Friendship Association
- The Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association
- The Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has recently dismissed a lawsuit filed by Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange against US chemical companies which provided US armed forces with highly toxic Agent Orange (Agent Orange/dioxin) that they used in the American War in Vietnam.
This is an unscientific and immoral decision!
The fact is that in the American war of aggression in Vietnam, US chemical manufacturers provided US armed forces with dozens of millions of litres of toxic chemicals called defoliants or herbicides for their use, causing severe consequences to the lives and health of all those exposed to them and generations of their descendents, who are today’s Vietnamese victims.
Tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans from the United States, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and New Zealand suffered severe toxic exposure during their combat in Vietnam and have since been diagnosed with a number of serious diseases. much scientific research by Vietnamese and international scientists has confirmed this truth.
US chemical companies acknowledged, de facto, the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin and their liability by paying US$180 million in an out-of-court settlement to affected US veterans in 1984, in order to end their lawsuit.
In 1996, the US Government finally acknowledged the harmful effects of Agent Orange/dioxin and apologized to the Vietnam veterans, agreeing to provide billions of US dollars per year to the American victims. And recently, two US chemical manufacturers, Dow and Mosanto, had to pay US$ 6 million in compensation to cover expenses for medical treatment and health care for 6,800 Korean veterans of the Vietnam war and their families.
The Government and people of Vietnam have been doing their best to reduce the pains and sufferings of the victims. With profound understanding and compassion, more and more organizations and individuals worldwide, including veterans groups and humanitarian agencies, and international forums and conferences, have been raising their voices damanding justice for the victims.
The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, the Vietnam Peace Committee, the Vietnam Committee for Solidarity with the Afro-Asian Countries, the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation, and all bilateral friendship organizations of Vietnam strongly support the Statement of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA) and the Vietnamese victims’s determination to continue their lawsuit to the US.Supreme Court.
Once again, we express sincere thanks to the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC), the World Peace Council, the Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organizations, the organizations participating in the World Social Forum, Vietlink, Asia-Europe People’s Forum, the South-South People Solidarity Network, the All-India People’s Solidarity Organization, the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Association, the Germany-Vietnam Friendship Association, the France-Vietnam Friendship Association, the Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Association, the Denmark-Vietnam Friendship Association, the Itaty-Vietnam Friendship Association, the Switzerland-Vietnam Friendship Association, the Spain-Vietnam Cultural Institute, the Sweden Committee for Solidarity with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, and many other organizations and individuals... who have been strongly supporting the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin over the past years.
We urgently appeal to all of you, organizations and justice and peace-loving people the world over, for further assistance, support and solidarity with the fight for justice of the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin.
We call upon the U.S. Government to continue to accept their responsibility in addressing the war legacy in Vietnam, including the consequences of the use of toxic chemicals.
Justice must belong to Vietnam’s Agent Orange/dioxin victims!
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