Swiss Party of Labour voices solidarity with Vietnamese AO victims

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Members of the Swiss Party of Labour show their solidarity with Tran To Nga and AO/dioxin victims (Photo: VNA)

In a statement released on May 11, the Swiss Party of Labour emphasized that it is unacceptable that after many decades, none of those accountable for the war that destroyed the environment, the ecology, and people in Vietnam have been punished.

Tran To Nga’s lawsuit is a great opportunity to regain justice for the victims and help ease part of their war paint, the Swiss party noted, affirming its consistent support for her in this struggle. As one of the four million AO/dioxin victims, the 79-year-old woman sued 14 multinational chemical companies, including herbicide manufacturer Monsanto (now under the Bayer Group of Germany), for supplying or selling the herbicide and defoliant chemical - AO/dioxin for the US army to use in the war in Vietnam.

However, the Crown Court of Evry city in France on May 10 ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to hear her case. In response, Nga said she will appeal, and that she will fight until the bitter end and this is the last struggle of her life, according to Vietnam Plus.

Many newspapers of German have run stories highlighting the lawsuit lodged by Vietnamese French Tran To Nga against 14 multinational chemical companies that produced the toxic chemicals sprayed by the US army in Vietnam during the war, affirming that the plaintiff and her supporters are not deterred by the ruling of a French court that the case fell outside its jurisdiction.

Tran To Nga (middle) is an AO victim herself. (Photo: VN Express)

An article posted by the Junge Welt newspaper on May 11 reported that Nga, who worked as a reporter of the Liberation News Agency (which is Vietnam News Agency now) during the anti-US war, was exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin sprayed by the US army, which caused many diseases to her and her children. The article quoted Nga as saying in an online talk last week that whatever the ruling of the court is, she will continue the struggle for justice that has been conducted for over 10 years. She affirmed that she is ready to pursue the lawsuit.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said that Vietnam regretted the French court’s decision to reject the lawsuit of Tran To Nga. Vietnam as a country has suffered devastating consequences of wars, including the long-lasting and serious impacts of Agent Orange/dioxin, spokesperson Hang said. She noted that throughout the trial, the Vietnamese embassy in France has been keeping in contact with Nga and providing necessary support when appropriate.

Nga graduated from a Hanoi university in 1966 and became a war correspondent of the Liberation News Agency. 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 herself. Of her three children, the first died of heart defects and the second suffers from a blood disease. She has also contracted a number of acute diseases. She is struggling for justice for not only herself and her children but also the four million Vietnamese people suffering from AO/dioxin, Vietnamnet cited.

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