Fight for justice for Vietnamese AO victims earns int’l headlines

A screenshot of the article on Tran To Nga's lawsuit posted on Junge Welt newspaper (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Over the past days, the international media continue running articles highlighting Vietnamese-French Tran To Nga’s lawsuit against 14 multinational companies for producing and selling chemical toxins used by the US army in the war in Vietnam, which have destroyed the environment and affected the health of generations of Vietnamese people.

In a new article on Germany’s Junge Welt newspaper, author Stefan Kuhner said that the trial, conducted in the Crown Court of Evry city of France, may be one of the last attempts to bring justice to Vietnamese dioxin/Agent Orange victims.

The lawsuit was filed by the Vietnamese-French woman against a dozen of companies which produced and sold chemical toxins, including the Agent Orange widely sprayed over southern Vietnam by the US army from 1964-1971.

The use of 80 million litres of Agent Orange and other herbicides aimed at destroying tropical forests where Vietnamese soldiers were hiding or using as medical stations and military bases, and damaging crops of farmers.

The article affirmed that the US army’s action could be described as a chemical war under international law whose serious consequences have endured until now.

It also cited Nga as saying that the crime must be acknowledged and justice should be done, and she would continue fighting for millions of other victims.

A screenshot of the article on Tran To Nga's lawsuit posted on Der Bund daily newspaper (Photo: VNA)

Switzerland’s Der Bund daily newspaper also posted an article praising the courage of the 79-year-old woman who is suffering from serious illnesses, but stubbornly fighting against 14 major chemical groups to find justice for millions of Vietnamese dioxin/AO victims.

The article quoted Nga as saying that she has never forgotten what the Agent Orange/dioxin has caused in Vietnam, the crime against humanity must be punished and related companies must bear responsibility.

However, up to now, Vietnamese dioxin/AO victims have yet to receive any compensation, while the affected US servicemen were compensated by these chemical firms.

A screenshot of the article on Tran To Nga's lawsuit posted on Der Bund daily newspaper (Photo: VNA)

Tran To Nga graduated from a Hanoi university in 1966 and became a war correspondent of the Liberation News Agency, now the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). She worked in some of the most heavily AO/Dioxin affected areas in southern Vietnam such as Cu Chi, Ben Cat and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, ultimately experiencing contamination effects herself.

Among her three children, the first child died of heart defects and the second suffers from a blood disease.

In 2009, Nga, who contracted a number of acute diseases, appeared as a witness at the Court of Public Opinion in Paris, France, against the US chemical companies.

On April 16, 2015, the Crown Court of Evry city held the first hearing on the case, but since then, lawyers of the sued chemical companies tried every way to prolong the procedures.

The trial was scheduled to open in October 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic./.

VNA