Vietnam War victims to sue US chemical companies www.chinaview.cn 2006-03-28 16:27:56

HANOI, March 28 (Xinhua) -- An international conference opened here Tuesday to support the struggle for interests of the victims of Agent Orange, the defoliant sprayed by the U.S. army in Vietnam War.

Addressing at the Conference of Agent Orange Victims, Dang Vu Hiep, president of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin, said that the world should know more about problems faced by the victims and support their struggles, including the Vietnamese victims' lawsuit against U.S. chemical companies.

The legitimate struggle is of significance to not only better life of the victims, but also the world peace and justice, he said.

Hiep noted that the two-day conference is also a good opportunity for victims and delegates from participating countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, German, Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam, to explore effects of Agent Orange on human lives, and exchange experiences in their struggles for justice and equality.

The U.S. Court of Appeals will hear Vietnamese victims' case against American chemical producers next month.

In January 2004, local Agent Orange victims brought the suit against 37 U.S. companies which produced defoliants to the U.S. district court in Brooklyn, New York. The court of first instance dismissed the lawsuit, citing a lack of legal basis as the key reason.

The Vietnam War ended in 1975, but 4.8 million Vietnamese people have so far been exposed to Agent Orange, of whom some 3 million are victims, said the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.

According to studies of U.S. scientists, the U.S. army forces dropped some 80 million liters of defoliants, mostly Agent Orange,which contained nearly 400 kilograms of dioxin, an extremely toxicsubstance, to Vietnam between 1961 and 1971, the association said. Enditem

Editor: Zhu Jin