Since the war’s formal conclusion, there have been at least 50,000 such deaths in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, plus countless injuries. There will be many more, for generations to come.
These and related problems were addressed at the conference by Prof. Nguyen Trong Nhan, President of the Vietnam Red Cross, who underlined the special responsibility of the U.S. government: ”Faithful to their tradition of tolerance,” he noted, ”the people of Vietnam are willing to leave behind the bitter past and look to the future.
These and related problems were addressed at the conference by Prof. Nguyen Trong Nhan, President of the Vietnam Red Cross, who underlined the special responsibility of the U.S. government: ”Faithful to their tradition of tolerance,” he noted, ”the people of Vietnam are willing to leave behind the bitter past and look to the future.
"But we cannot ignore the United States’ responsibility to help resolve the war of aggression’s long-term effects on the people and the environment.
”Some may argue,” he continued, ”that since the war in Vietnam ended 27 years ago, it is best not to dwell upon it. But let me remind you that, even today, criminals from World War II are being hunted down and put on trial - and that war ended 57 years ago. I strongly believe that the dark past can only be overcome if the U.S. government develops sufficient courage to begin resolving the serious consequences of the war.”
”Some may argue,” he continued, ”that since the war in Vietnam ended 27 years ago, it is best not to dwell upon it. But let me remind you that, even today, criminals from World War II are being hunted down and put on trial - and that war ended 57 years ago. I strongly believe that the dark past can only be overcome if the U.S. government develops sufficient courage to begin resolving the serious consequences of the war.”
The recent conference followed by thirty years the first U.N. Conference on the Environment which took place in 1972, also in Stockholm.
It was on that occasion that Olof Palme, Sweden’s prime minister at the time, defied efforts by the United States to keep issues of war off the agenda, by referring to the devastation then being inflicted on Vietnam:
”The immense destruction brought about by indiscriminate bombing and by the large-scale use of bulldozers and herbicides is an outrage that is sometimes referred to as ’ecocide’,” observed Palme.
It was on that occasion that Olof Palme, Sweden’s prime minister at the time, defied efforts by the United States to keep issues of war off the agenda, by referring to the devastation then being inflicted on Vietnam:
”The immense destruction brought about by indiscriminate bombing and by the large-scale use of bulldozers and herbicides is an outrage that is sometimes referred to as ’ecocide’,” observed Palme.