1.MANUFACTURERS OF GM FOODSTUFFS AND AGENT ORANGE
2.End of the Road for Agent Orange Victims?
3.U.S. Vets Join Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims
NOTE: The herbicide Agent Orange, which was widely used as a defoliant by the U.S. Government during the Vietnam War, was later shown to be highly carcinogenic, due in particular to its contamination with dioxin.
Dioxin has been linked to numerous, potentially deadly health problems and
in some areas of Vietnam, people have blood levels of dioxin tens of times above normal.
The Agent Orange produced by Monsanto had dioxin levels many times higher than that produced by Dow Chemicals, the other major supplier of Agent Orange. Internal Monsanto memos show that Monsanto knew of the problems of dioxin contamination when it sold it to the U.S. government for use in Vietnam.
Agent Orange contaminated more than 3 million civilians and servicemen. But according to William Sanjour, who led the Toxic Waste Division of the Environmental Protection Agency, "thousands of veterans were disallowed benefits" because "Monsanto studies showed that dioxin [as found in Agent Orange] was not a human carcinogen."
But Sanjour's EPA colleague, Dr. Cate Jenkins, discovered that Monsanto had allegedly falsified the data in their studies. Sanjour says, "If they were done correctly, [the studies] would have reached just the opposite result."
According to Sanjour, despite the government's assurances that it would "investigate any allegations of fraud and, if appropriate, evaluate the full range of enforcement options" it did nothing of the kind. Instead it investigated and illegally harassed the whistleblower, Cate Jenkins.
http://pwp.lincs.net/sanjour/monsanto.htm
TAKE ACTION: If you're in the UK, then it's more important than ever to ask your MP to sign on to this Early Day Motion (item 1) of concern over the Government's cosy relationship with the companies not only responsible for inflicting so much human suffering but who are still doing everything they can to avoid compensating the people of Vietnam.
EXTRACTS: Agent Orange contains dioxin, the most deadly substance known. In lab experiments scientists have found even a few parts per trillion dangerous.
...under U.S. law these companies [like Monsanto and Dow, the leading manufacturers of Agent Orange] cannot be sued as they were acting under government orders. (item 2)
The risk of death from cancer among men and women exposed to Agent Orange increased by 30 percent in Vietnam after the war, studies show. Today, three million Vietnamese and tens of thousands of U.S soldiers still suffer the health effects of these chemicals. (item 3)
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1.MANUFACTURERS OF GM FOODSTUFFS AND AGENT ORANGE
Early Day Motion - EDM 406, 12 Jan 2009
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=37421&SESSION=899
[26 MPs have signed to date]
Cohen, Harry
That this House expresses concern for the implications for food and the environment of Government discussions with companies of the Agriculture Biotechnology Council which includes Monsanto and Dow Chemicals; notes that these were two of the manufacturers of Agent Orange used by US forces in Vietnam, and are at present before the US Supreme Court for the damage done by Agent Orange; and, whilst remaining unconvinced that genetically-modified crops are safe environmentally for the long-term, is concerned that they could damage biodiversity, and currently are inadequately labelled on products containing such ingredients; and believes that these two companies should not be in cosy discussions with the Government on this matter whilst still not properly fulfilling their compensatory responsibility to the people of Vietnam.
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2.RIGHTS-VIETNAM: End of the Road for Agent Orange Victims?
By Helen Clark
IPS, March 16 2009
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46112
HANOI - Where can Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange get justice? Probably nowhere, after the United States Supreme Court refused to hear, this month, a final appeal by Vietnamese plaintiffs against chemical giants Dow and Monsanto.
Soon after the Mar. 2 decision on the case, that began in 2004, was announced local newspapers declared that rights had been "trampled" upon, and foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said the nation was disgusted.
Two weeks later, the issue remains in the news and in the minds of frustrated Vietnamese citizens.
The legal battle is likely over. Vietnamese plaintiffs cannot appeal again, despite promises of help from the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dealing with rights issues.
U.S. courts have ruled that no link has been established between Agent Orange's active ingredient, the highly toxic dioxin, and the birth defects claimed. Both victims and the Vietnamese government claim otherwise. Moreover, under U.S. law these companies cannot be sued as they were acting under government orders.
Hope may now come from avenues of 'softer' power: friendship societies, NGOs, and increased pressure on the Obama administration.
Agent Orange has been described as one of the last hurdles in the U.S.-Vietnam relationship that is now worth over 15 billion US dollars in two-way trade. In reality, it may be less than a hurdle, but the government knows that an angry response is better than none.
"The current leadership does not want to make this an impediment or hurdle in the bilateral relationship but it faces a domestic constituency that demands some compensation," said Carl Thayer of the Australian Defence Force Academy over e-mail. "[But] the condemnation by the state-controlled media and by government officials is an expression of genuine frustration."
The outlook is not entirely grim. The U.S. government in 2007 earmarked three million dollars as part of a cleanup effort in particularly affected hotspots, such as where the chemical was stored.
Targeted was the former U.S. airbase at Danang city and now an airport serving the coastal tourist area. Hatfield Consultants, Canada, which conducted soil tests in 2007, turned up results that showed levels of toxic matter 400 times higher than acceptable levels.
"I see a potential unspoken linkage between the U.S. addressing the legacy of Agent Orange and gradually improved security-defence ties. The Agent Orange issue gives the U.S. a possible avenue of influence on the Vietnamese political system and society at large," continued Thayer.
Some hold out hopes that the Obama administration will pursue the matter. Len Aldis, secretary of the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society, has written two open letters to President Barack Obama, the second one protesting the Mar. 2 ruling.
Aldis wrote: "Despite the court ruling you have the authority to make a policy that will give financial compensation to the victims of Agent Orange and to their families. It is your moral obligation. Sooner or later, it has to be done."
Agent Orange is a chemical defoliant. Over 80 million lt were dropped on south and central Vietnam to deny communist forces cover, and give clear sight to army bases fearing attacks.
Agent Orange contains dioxin, the most deadly substance known. In lab experiments scientists have found even a few parts per trillion dangerous.
Though granting compensation worth 180 million dollars to veterans in 1984 in an out-of-court settlement, the U.S. government denies that dioxin causes birth defects. The Vietnamese government says otherwise and estimates that four million citizens are Agent Orange-affected.
Despite its inevitability this loss is disheartening for many.
'Doc' Bernie Duff, a U.S. veteran who walked the length of the country last year to raise awareness about Agent Orange and will do so again in less than a month, told IPS via e-mail, "I was hoping that this blot could at last be removed... as a U.S. veteran I have watched many of my compatriots suffer and often die as a result of the use of that chemical compound."
People in Vietnam do feel strongly about Agent Orange, though they aver they no longer care about the war that spawned its usage. That is history. The children born with deformities and the remaining cancer-stricken veterans are not.
The government believes that Agent Orange has affected the third generation, with sick and deformed children born to people sprayed during the conflict. They feel an innocent second, or third, generation should not suffer needlessly.
"There's never enough help. These families have no bright future. There are economic costs and it also affects their spirit and their mind," Vu Hai Thai, a 23-year-old banking student, told IPS. "The court judgment wasn’t fair. But it [Agent Orange] is a past story now." (END/2009)
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3.U.S. Vets Join Vietnamese Agent Orange Victims
By Elisabeth Schreinemacher
IPS, 19 Dec 2008 [shortened]
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=31485
UNITED NATIONS - Vietnamese victims of the defoliant known as Agent Orange wound up a month-long visit to the U.S. at the invitation of veterans, Vietnamese Americans and peace activists, to press their case for reparations from the U.S. government and the companies that made the deadly chemical.
They say an estimated 50,000 deformed children have been born to parents who were directly sprayed with Agent Orange or exposed through contaminated food and water.
During the Vietnam War, the U.S. scorched up to 25 percent of the country's forests with the deadly chemicals Agent Orange, and also Agent White, Blue, Pink, Green and Purple. Agent Orange, which contained trace amounts of dioxin, disabled and sickened both soldiers and civilians.
The risk of death from cancer among men and women exposed to Agent Orange increased by 30 percent in Vietnam after the war, studies show. Today, three million Vietnamese and tens of thousands of U.S soldiers still suffer the health effects of these chemicals.
To raise awareness here about their campaign, Vietnamese activists conducted a 10-city tour, with stops in New York, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco, among others, which ended last week.
"I have just learned what the doctors think of my case," said Ha Thi Hai, an Agent Orange victim born in 1976 in Vietnam's Thai Binh province. "They say that Agent Orange has affected my marrow and atrophied my muscles. It is inoperable and incurable. I am going to lose little by little the use of my limbs and not be able to move."
More than 30 years after the end of the war that killed more than 58,000 U.S. soldiers and three million Vietnamese, U.S veterans are demanding compensation for their Vietnamese counterparts.
U.S. veterans received partial compensation for their injuries from the U.S. government and the chemical companies that manufactured the weapons, but Vietnamese victims have not received any compensation.
From 1961 trough 1971, 22 million gallons of highly toxic herbicides were sprayed over hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, mostly in Vietnam, but also in Laos and Cambodia.
In addition to the human toll, Agent Orange devastated Vietnam's natural environment, including the wholesale destruction of mangrove forests and the long-term poisoning of soil and crops.
In 1984, seven U.S. chemical companies agreed to pay 180 million dollars to 291,000 people over a period of 12 years. However, the companies refused to accept liability as part of the legal settlement of the cases, claiming the science still does not prove that Agent Orange was responsible for any of the medical horrors its name has long brought to mind.
In 2004, Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange filed a new federal lawsuit against 36 U.S. chemical companies that manufactured and supplied the herbicide. The lawsuit was dismissed on Mar. 10 of this year, when a judge found the claims lacked a basis in national or international law.
The Association of Agent Orange Victims, which represents more than three million Vietnamese affected by the toxic herbicide, announced in September that they planned to file an appeal of the ruling.
The Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign is supporting the lawsuit of Agent Orange victims against U.S. chemical manufacturers and is lobbying the U.S. government to provide compensation for Vietnamese Agent Orange survivors.
"We have had a tremendous amount of support," Merle Ratner, a coordinator of the Campaign, told IPS. "We are trying to get legislation introduced within the next year or six months. We are calling on the U.S. to allocate money for Agent Orange victims in Vietnam."
"From the discussions of the people from the tour, we have heard that they are living under difficult conditions. The Vietnamese government is trying to provide help for them and in fact is giving some kind of assistance to every Agent Orange victim in the country, but this is a poor country so they can not afford that much," she said,
"We think there is a responsibility, both legally and ethically, to compensate the Agent Orange victims in Vietnam, as the U.S. has been forced to do with the U.S. veterans."