Next week’s visit to Vietnam by US Secretary of State Hillary Clintonwill be a great opportunity to renew and expand the US government’sresponse to addressing the legacy of Agent Orange, said a seniorofficial from the Aspen Institute, a Washington DC-based non-profitorganisation.
At a news briefing on Agent Orangein Vietnam, which was held in Washington DC on July 15 by theAgent Orange in Vietnam Information Initiative, David Devlin-Foltz saidthat Clinton had been briefed on the declaration and plan of actionfor period 2010 to 2019 released by the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group.
Theplan calls upon the US government and other countries, foundations andnon-governmental organisations, to provide an estimated 300 million USDover 10 years to clean the dioxin-contaminated soil and restore damagedecosystems, as well as expanding services to people with disabilitiesand their families that are linked to the dioxin.
Devlin-Foltz said he expected that the US officials will discuss theAgent Orange issue in private meetings with Vietnamese governmentofficials.
He said he hoped that the Secretary ofState would encourage more involvement from the US government to seea more dramatic response to the Agent Orange problem as therelationship between both countries is improving.
According to him, the Agent Orange issue has been an irritant to thecountry’s relationship with Vietnam for many years, but the timehas come to remedy this as it is a humanitarian issue.
"There are real opportunities to do something useful" for Vietnamesevictims of Agent Orange, he said.
He added thatmembers of the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group know there are realopportunities to work to contain the spread of the dioxin; opportunitiesto stop the dioxin entering the local food chain; ways of restoringdamaged agricultural land and ways of providing effective rehabilitationservices to people with disabilities, regardless of the cost.
Also at the news briefing, Bob Edgar, a former congressmanand currently head of the Common Cause organisation in the US, said thathe believed it was important to recognise that several senators,including Senator Tom Harkin, who was just in Vietnam last week, SenatorPat Leahy and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and others have stated thatthey recognise that wars do not end just when the last soldier leavesthe battlefield.
Edgar said that this is not only anopportunity for the US to both work to expand its partnership with theVietnamese government, but also to work to address issues relating toAgent Orange in Vietnam./.
At a news briefing on Agent Orangein Vietnam, which was held in Washington DC on July 15 by theAgent Orange in Vietnam Information Initiative, David Devlin-Foltz saidthat Clinton had been briefed on the declaration and plan of actionfor period 2010 to 2019 released by the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group.
Theplan calls upon the US government and other countries, foundations andnon-governmental organisations, to provide an estimated 300 million USDover 10 years to clean the dioxin-contaminated soil and restore damagedecosystems, as well as expanding services to people with disabilitiesand their families that are linked to the dioxin.
Devlin-Foltz said he expected that the US officials will discuss theAgent Orange issue in private meetings with Vietnamese governmentofficials.
He said he hoped that the Secretary ofState would encourage more involvement from the US government to seea more dramatic response to the Agent Orange problem as therelationship between both countries is improving.
According to him, the Agent Orange issue has been an irritant to thecountry’s relationship with Vietnam for many years, but the timehas come to remedy this as it is a humanitarian issue.
"There are real opportunities to do something useful" for Vietnamesevictims of Agent Orange, he said.
He added thatmembers of the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group know there are realopportunities to work to contain the spread of the dioxin; opportunitiesto stop the dioxin entering the local food chain; ways of restoringdamaged agricultural land and ways of providing effective rehabilitationservices to people with disabilities, regardless of the cost.
Also at the news briefing, Bob Edgar, a former congressmanand currently head of the Common Cause organisation in the US, said thathe believed it was important to recognise that several senators,including Senator Tom Harkin, who was just in Vietnam last week, SenatorPat Leahy and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and others have stated thatthey recognise that wars do not end just when the last soldier leavesthe battlefield.
Edgar said that this is not only anopportunity for the US to both work to expand its partnership with theVietnamese government, but also to work to address issues relating toAgent Orange in Vietnam./.
