The US Court of Appeals on June 18 held oral arguments on the appeal filed by Vietnamese AO/Dioxin victims in their lawsuit against 37 US producers and suppliers of toxic chemicals which cause durable harms on environment and people’s health in Vietnam.

The lawsuit was dismissed two years ago by a federal inferior court on the ground of insufficient legal evidence.

At the hearing, lawyers of the plaintiffs emphasised the high level of danger from Agent Orange/Dioxin sprayed by US troops on battlefields during the past war in Vietnam. Moreover, a large quantity of the toxic chemicals were used over a period of 10 years even though the US authorities and chemical companies had been warned of the danger from the chemicals.

The lawyers stressed that AO/Dioxin has had profound consequences on the environment and many generations of Vietnamese. They held that the case should be brought back to the court in the US for trial. 

Lawyers representing the defendants argued that US chemical companies had not known about the highly dangerous nature of AO. They said that even now science has not been able to prove the close ties between the toxic chemicals used by the US troops in Vietnam in the past and the serious diseases that the Vietnamese side said to have been caused by AO/Dioxin.

The US Court of Appeal will decide if the case will be bring back to the US court in the near future.

A delegation of Vietnamese AO victims, led by Tran Xuan Thu, Vice President-cum-General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA), attended the hearing.

The delegation also met with the press before and after the hearing. Many press agencies, including Associated Press and MSNBC of the US, Britain’s Reuters and Ria Novosti of Russia, participated in these meetings.

Around 100 US people, many of whom were veterans, joined meetings in support of AO victims before the hearing. The participants wore orange ribbons and took with them orange balloons and boards demanding justice for AO victims.

Thu told the press after the hearing that as it is not a criminal but civil case, nobody will be jailed or accused, but Vietnamese AO victims are asking for justice and compensation.

The plaintiff’s representative, lawyer Konstantine Kokkoris, said US chemical companies should take responsibility for causing serious consequences to humans and the environment in Vietnam.

He also said he hoped that the judges would quickly bring the case to court for trial again.

Thu said if decision by the Court of Appeal falls short of the association’s expectation, they will take the lawsuit to the US Supreme Court. (VNA)

Voices of support for Vietnamese AO victims echo from France

“The Fountain of the innocents” square in the centre of Paris on the night of June 18 became a rendezvous point of supporters for Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin victims who gathered to call for greater international support for the victims’ struggle for justice.

The massive gathering, which took place while the US Court of Appeal heard an oral argument between Vietnamese victims and the 37 US chemical companies that the victims are seeking damages from was an initiative organised by Collectif Vietnam Dioxin.

The get-together drew the participation of a dozen international organisations and French associations, with numerous activities including distribution of brochures, exposition of photos and documents on the consequences of AO/dioxin and the procedures of the victims’ lawsuit and the collection of signatures for a petition of support.

The meeting was held to show international solidarity towards the AO/dioxin victims as well as to call for the international community’s support for the victims’ legitimate demands, said French national Vo Dinh Kim who represents Collectif Vietnam Dioxin.

US chemical companies need to take responsibility for the victims and show their respect for world public opinion, Anni Mc Stravick, a member of the Association of Anti-war Americans in France , said while confirming that Vietnamese victims are not isolated as the international community backs their cause.

Meanwhile, an article by Grant McCool, a Reuters correspondent in Hanoi, wrote a piece on two Vietnamese mothers, who have sons lying disfigured and brain-damaged due to the war-time dioxin. McCo-ol said that the US court hearing will hardly change the lives of their sons, but a lawsuit against US chemical manufacturers and other efforts to deal with a war legacy could help future generations.

The US sprayed an estimated 70 million litres of herbicide from 1961 to 1971 to defoliate the jungles in Vietnam, the article wrote. The US Court of Appeal opened a hearing on the case by Vietnamese victims against 37 US chemical companies that was dismissed two years ago for lack of evidence. (VNA)