Monsanto and Dow should be indicted for war crimes

"If no change is made, no condemnation of the use of Agent Orange, no call for immediate compensation to the victims and their families, no call for the chemical companies such as Monsanto and Dow to be charged with war crimes, then the hearings will have solved nothing."

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Activist cautious as Agent Orange experts testify at US Congress
Reported by An Dien - Jon Dillingham
Thanh Nien Daily News, June 4 2009
http://www.thanhniennews.com/features/?catid=10&newsid=49474

As Vietnamese Agent Orange activists take their struggle for justice to the floor of the United States congress, a British advocate campaigning on their behalf can't be sure of the US's intentions.

The hearings on Thursday (US time) are the second time testimony on the issue is brought before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment.

But as the US Supreme Court earlier this year rejected a lawsuit filed by Vietnamese victims of the defoliant seeking compensation from the companies that manufactured the chemical, Agent Orange activist Len Aldis, who has been advocating for restitutions and aid for over 20 years, has more questions than answers.

Noting via email that US court settlements have entitled US veterans to millions of dollars in compensation for their exposure to the toxic substance, Aldis pointed out the hypocrisy on the issue:

"When the US Veterans won their out of court settlement in 1984 the Judge was Judge Jack Weinstein. The Vietnamese lawsuit that lost in 2005, the judge was Judge Jack Weinstein," he said. "Why did he rule against the Vietnamese? They were suing the same chemical companies. The Vietnamese victims have the same illnesses and disabilities."

He also pointed out that part of the problem was that the major chemical companies the suits were filed against, Dow Chemical and Monsanto among others, were often feeders for the government and vice-versa.

"Monsanto is notorious for this; it is called the Revolving Door," he said. "Justice Clarence Thomas, who sat in on the AO lawsuit, worked for two years as a lawyer for Monsanto."

Aldis, the Secretary of the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society, said the hearing provided an ideal opportunity for the congress to listen to the witnesses and actual victims to see how Agent Orange has affected them long after the war ended.

But despite US$3 million recently given to Agent Orange clean up efforts by the Obama administration, Aldis cannot be sure justice will be served by the hearings.

"If no change is made, no condemnation of the use of Agent Orange, no call for immediate compensation to the victims and their families, no call for the chemical companies such as Monsanto and Dow to be charged with war crimes, then the hearings will have solved nothing.

"The Vietnamese victims will continue to suffer and die. I sincerely hope I am wrong, but the victims have waited for over 40 years for justice. It is an insult for the chairman of the committee to ask the victims to be patient."

Drop in the bucket

Aldis said the US$3 million recently approved by the US government to assist Agent Orange cleanup in Vietnam would do "very, very little."

It has been estimated that the cleanup of the Da Nang site in central Vietnam will cost $17 million, Aldis said, adding that Da Nang is just one of several affected sites.

International agencies have recognized at least 25 so-called "hot-spots" contaminated with Agent Orange.

"It is an insult to make such an offer when millions of dollars have been paid ­ and rightly so ­ to US Veterans and their families for the illnesses caused by Agent Orange," Aldis said.

end of excerpt