Anger at dismissal of Agent Orange lawsuit
Anger at dismissal of Agent Orange lawsuit
12mar05
HANOI: A Vietnamese group expressed anger yesterday over a US judge's dismissal of their class action against US chemical companies, claiming they committed war crimes by making Agent Orange.
US District Judge Jack Weinstein rejected the case in New York yesterday, saying he did not agree that the defoliant and similar herbicides used in the Vietnam war should be considered poisons banned under the international rules of war.
US warplanes sprayed more than 80 million litres of defoliants, mostly Agent Orange, on Vietnam in 1962-71 to destroy crops and remove foliage used as cover by communist forces. This has been widely blamed for a range of health problems.
"We are disappointed ... Weinstein has turned a blind eye before the obvious truth. It's a shame for him to put out that decision. We just want justice, nothing more," said Nguyen Trong Nhan, vice-president of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange.
The lawsuit was the first attempt by Vietnamese plaintiffs to seek compensation for the effects of Agent Orange, which contains the highly toxic chemical dioxin and has been linked to cancer, diabetes and birth defects among Vietnamese soldiers, civilians and US veterans.
Judge Weinstein found the plaintiffs could not prove Agent Orange had caused their illnesses, citing a lack of large-scale research.
Lawyers for chemical manufacturers Monsanto, Dow Chemical and a dozen other major companies had argued they should not be punished for following the orders of the US commander in chief, and claimed international law exempts corporations, as opposed to individuals, from liability for war crimes.
"We've said all along that any issues regarding wartime activities should be resolved by the US and Vietnamese governments," said Dow Chemical spokesman Scot Wheeler. "We believe defoliants saved lives by protecting allied forces from enemy ambush and did not create adverse health effects."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12519177%255E2703,00.html
12mar05
HANOI: A Vietnamese group expressed anger yesterday over a US judge's dismissal of their class action against US chemical companies, claiming they committed war crimes by making Agent Orange.
US District Judge Jack Weinstein rejected the case in New York yesterday, saying he did not agree that the defoliant and similar herbicides used in the Vietnam war should be considered poisons banned under the international rules of war.
US warplanes sprayed more than 80 million litres of defoliants, mostly Agent Orange, on Vietnam in 1962-71 to destroy crops and remove foliage used as cover by communist forces. This has been widely blamed for a range of health problems.
"We are disappointed ... Weinstein has turned a blind eye before the obvious truth. It's a shame for him to put out that decision. We just want justice, nothing more," said Nguyen Trong Nhan, vice-president of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange.
The lawsuit was the first attempt by Vietnamese plaintiffs to seek compensation for the effects of Agent Orange, which contains the highly toxic chemical dioxin and has been linked to cancer, diabetes and birth defects among Vietnamese soldiers, civilians and US veterans.
Judge Weinstein found the plaintiffs could not prove Agent Orange had caused their illnesses, citing a lack of large-scale research.
Lawyers for chemical manufacturers Monsanto, Dow Chemical and a dozen other major companies had argued they should not be punished for following the orders of the US commander in chief, and claimed international law exempts corporations, as opposed to individuals, from liability for war crimes.
"We've said all along that any issues regarding wartime activities should be resolved by the US and Vietnamese governments," said Dow Chemical spokesman Scot Wheeler. "We believe defoliants saved lives by protecting allied forces from enemy ambush and did not create adverse health effects."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12519177%255E2703,00.html
posted by JimG at 9:32 AM
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