U.S. Law Suit for Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims
Len Aldis, Secretary Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society
For the first time ever, legal action has been taken in the United States on behalf of Vietnamese victims of the Vietnam War.
On 30 January 2004, a class action suit was filed in a New York district court by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.
Three Vietnamese citizens were named as plaintiffs, but the suit applies as well to all Vietnamese citizens who have been victimized by the wartime spraying of Agent Orange.
As the government cannot be sued without its consent - which it never grants, even when its own citizens are involved - the complaint has been filed against several dozen U.S. companies, including Dow Chemical and Monsanto, which were involved in the manufacture of the Agent Orange used by U.S. forces during the war. A jury trial has been requested.
Everyone who is familiar with the terrible effects of Agent Orange will be pleased that the first step has finally been taken to obtain a measure of justice for the millions of Vietnamese victims.I fear that the case will take time, and that some of the victims may not live to see the outcome. It is not unlikely that the companies named in the lawsuit will use all means that the law permits to delay the outcome.
It will be interesting to see who will be called as witnesses by Monsanto, Dow Chemical and the other defendants, and to hear the evidence they will give before the jury to justify the use of such weapons in apparent violation of international law.
The formal complaint filed with the court is a valuable source of information on the subject (see below). Among the expertise it draws upon are the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and research teams led by Dr. Wayne Dwernychuk of Hatfield Consultants in Canada, who also serves on the steering committee of the Environmental Conference on Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam.
I strongly urge everyone who is interested in this important issue to read the complete document, which should be very helpful in gathering support for the victims of Agent Orange.
Permit me to suggest some actions that can be taken to support the plaintiffs.
· Letters to the chief executive officers of all the companies named as defendants in the law suit, expressing the writer’s deep concern and urging justice for the victims of Agent Orange. It might also be stressed that one’s opinion toward the company and its products will be strongly affected by its response to the law suit.
· Letters to members of national legislatures, the parliament and other principal bodies of the European Union, and heads of state, urging their support for the plaintiffs and reminding them that, whatever the outcome of the law suit, the victims of Agent Orange are in urgent need of assistance from the world community at large.
A petition in support of the law suit has been posted on the Internet, and everyone who is concerned about this issue is urged to sign it. To access the petition, click here. http://www.petitiononline.com/AOVN/petition.html
Also, an "Early Day Motion" has been submitted to the British Parliament and has already been endorsed by a number of MPs. To see the text of the motion and the names of endorsers, click here: http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=680
Questions and suggestions regarding any aspect of the issue are most welcome and may be submitted via e-mail to this address: LenAldis@compuserve.com
To access the full text of the law suit in PDF format, click here. http://www.nnn.se/vietnam/ao-suit.pdf
Note: The main arguments of the complaint begin under the heading of "Factual Allegations" on page 9 of the document.
Len Aldis, Secretary
Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society
For more information, please go to: http://www.nnn.se/vietnam/environ.htm
Nordic News Network http://www.nnn.se
Len Aldis, Secretary Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society
For the first time ever, legal action has been taken in the United States on behalf of Vietnamese victims of the Vietnam War.
On 30 January 2004, a class action suit was filed in a New York district court by the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.
Three Vietnamese citizens were named as plaintiffs, but the suit applies as well to all Vietnamese citizens who have been victimized by the wartime spraying of Agent Orange.
As the government cannot be sued without its consent - which it never grants, even when its own citizens are involved - the complaint has been filed against several dozen U.S. companies, including Dow Chemical and Monsanto, which were involved in the manufacture of the Agent Orange used by U.S. forces during the war. A jury trial has been requested.
Everyone who is familiar with the terrible effects of Agent Orange will be pleased that the first step has finally been taken to obtain a measure of justice for the millions of Vietnamese victims.I fear that the case will take time, and that some of the victims may not live to see the outcome. It is not unlikely that the companies named in the lawsuit will use all means that the law permits to delay the outcome.
It will be interesting to see who will be called as witnesses by Monsanto, Dow Chemical and the other defendants, and to hear the evidence they will give before the jury to justify the use of such weapons in apparent violation of international law.
The formal complaint filed with the court is a valuable source of information on the subject (see below). Among the expertise it draws upon are the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and research teams led by Dr. Wayne Dwernychuk of Hatfield Consultants in Canada, who also serves on the steering committee of the Environmental Conference on Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam.
I strongly urge everyone who is interested in this important issue to read the complete document, which should be very helpful in gathering support for the victims of Agent Orange.
Permit me to suggest some actions that can be taken to support the plaintiffs.
· Letters to the chief executive officers of all the companies named as defendants in the law suit, expressing the writer’s deep concern and urging justice for the victims of Agent Orange. It might also be stressed that one’s opinion toward the company and its products will be strongly affected by its response to the law suit.
· Letters to members of national legislatures, the parliament and other principal bodies of the European Union, and heads of state, urging their support for the plaintiffs and reminding them that, whatever the outcome of the law suit, the victims of Agent Orange are in urgent need of assistance from the world community at large.
A petition in support of the law suit has been posted on the Internet, and everyone who is concerned about this issue is urged to sign it. To access the petition, click here. http://www.petitiononline.com/AOVN/petition.html
Also, an "Early Day Motion" has been submitted to the British Parliament and has already been endorsed by a number of MPs. To see the text of the motion and the names of endorsers, click here: http://edm.ais.co.uk/weblink/html/motion.html/ref=680
Questions and suggestions regarding any aspect of the issue are most welcome and may be submitted via e-mail to this address: LenAldis@compuserve.com
To access the full text of the law suit in PDF format, click here. http://www.nnn.se/vietnam/ao-suit.pdf
Note: The main arguments of the complaint begin under the heading of "Factual Allegations" on page 9 of the document.
Len Aldis, Secretary
Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society
For more information, please go to: http://www.nnn.se/vietnam/environ.htm
Nordic News Network http://www.nnn.se