Vietnam demands Monsanto pay victims of US Agent Orange chemical warfare
Vietnam is again seeking justice for the victims of Agent Orange, inspired by the multimillion-dollar verdicts against Monsanto in California. The biotech firm had supplied the US military with the chemical during the #VietnamWar.
The #Vietnam Association of Victims of #AgentOrange (VAVA) has written a letter to a #US court asking that it restart a class-action lawsuit by Agent Orange victims against American chemical firms, including Monsanto, which the Eastern District Court of New York dismissed in 2004, claiming a “lack of evidence” and asserting that “herbicide spraying.. did not constitute a war crime pre-1975.”
FILE PHOTO: Hereditary victim of Agent Orange in Vietnam © Reuters / Damir Sagolj
Citing two recent court rulings in San Francisco, where Monsanto’s Roundup was found responsible for health damages and the company was ordered to pay millions of dollars in compensation, VAVA asserted that it is time for the company to take responsibility for supplying the US military with Agent Orange during the brutal chemical warfare campaign (1961-1971) against Viet Cong guerilla fighters in which 12 million gallons of herbicide were used.
Dioxin, a highly toxic element of Agent Orange, has been linked to major health problems such as birth defects, cancers other deadly diseases. Stressing that Vietnam currently has more than 4.8 million Agent Orange victims, the letter asked for justice for people with hideous deformities.
“Where is the justice for Vietnamese victims who are being destroyed every day by the toxic chemical?” the letter asks.
"Is all the scientific evidence, with people as living proof, and Vietnam’s environment ravaged by Agent Orange used by the US in a meaningless war from 1961-1971 still not convincing?"
Monsanto, which was acquired by German giant Bayer AG last June, in the past argued that it was the US military that had set the specifications for making Agent Orange and decided on where and how the herbicide was used. The company also noted that it was just one of many wartime US government contractors who manufactured the toxin.
Last month a jury in San Francisco awarded $80 million in punitive damages to Edwin Hardeman after the court found that Roundup, Monsanto’s infamous glyphosate-based herbicide, was a “substantial factor” in causing non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer. In a similar case in August 2018, Dewayne Johnson was awarded $289mn after developing cancer from long-term exposure to Roundup. After months of legal drama, the terminally ill cancer patient agreed to a reduced payout of $78 million.
Original: https://www.rt.com/news/457053-vietnam-agent-orange-justice-monsanto/
It doesn't matter if chemical warfare was a war crime at that time...because the chemical wasn't dropped to cause cancer and birth defects, as has happened, it was dropped as a defoliate. In essence, it was dropped for it's intended use, the same use as farmers use Round Up, to kill plants. The only difference is that it was dropped by soldiers from planes, on civilians.
But, it does matter who ordered what. Did Monsanto know of the possibility of birth defects and cancers? Did the government? Who ordered it? There certainly needs to be an extensive investigation.
It might not have been a war crime at the time...but it is still a horrendous act.
They should do the same for agent orange diluted cotton pesticides in india that caused cancer and miscarriage in rural villages and underprivileged societies.
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Monsanto leaders and investors should be jailed for several crimes against humanity and all life on earth.
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thanks
Wow. Huge implications for our troops as well.
We need to treat the Veterans first then we can work the rest but why are the Agent Orange veterans not helped first?
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First monsanto (Bayer) should be closed. Asap.
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I think they should. Monsanto needs take responsibility for the harm the have caused not just with this, but with other products. They aren't even taking care of the Vets that were exposed to it, so it's not surprising they have completely ignored Vietnam. I understand that Agent Orange was used to defoliate since it was seen as we were 'losing' we had to resort to something 'big' It had more than an immediate environmental impact but both Monsanto and the US government denied for years that it even happen until they were hit in the face with indisputable facts.
Yes I am anti-Monsanto. I actively make sure I do not support them. However, their reach is far. They feel they're above everything.With this ruling on Round-Up it will now open doors to other products. They knew when they release the products the harm it will cause. I honestly believe that they knew it would devisate the countryside for decades and possibly longer. I wouldn't doubt if what they used in Agent Orange has found its way to end up as Round-Up and many other products despite KNOWING the effects it would have.
all the leaders from monsanto/bayer should be lined up and shot
they knew very well what they were doing
poor sheep
some still trying to give them the benefit of doubt
wake up people lol