The first argument session
between lawyers of 26 US chemical firms and plaintiff Tran To Nga - a
victim of the defoliant Agent Orange that the US military used during
the Vietnam War - is scheduled for March 3.
The day was designated by a judge during a court hearing, the fifth
of its kind, in the Crown Court of Evry city in the suburb of Paris on
January 7.
The prolonged case is placing the plaintiff at a disadvantage as
she is suffering from diseases due to Agent Orange/dioxin exposure, such
as type 2-diabetes, mental breakdown and tumours on body.
It also results in additional court charges and fees incurred by
both sides, whereas the US defendants have strong financial capability.
During the January 7 hearing, defence lawyers made irrational
requests, saying that Nga is expected to undergo new medical tests at a
designated clinic.
Previously, they also deliberately provoked an incident about the
documents’ authenticity and asked for documents proving that Nga used to
work at dioxin-sprayed areas, such as working contracts, paycheck
receipts and evidence showing the linkage between herbicides and her
diseases.
Lawyers from the Paris-based William “Bourdon & Forestier” law
firm representing Nga still affirmed their determination to follow the
case. They argued that the demand for the payroll of those who worked
during wartime 40 – 50 years ago is unrealistic.
Nga, for her part, said the ultimate goal of the case is getting
the world awake to the AO misery and disaster and calling for global
efforts to overcome its consequences though peace has been restored for
40 years.
In May 2014, Vietnamese-French Tran To Nga, 74, filed a lawsuit
against 26 US chemical firms for producing chemical toxins sprayed by
the US army in the war in Vietnam, causing serious consequences for the
community, her and her children.
Tran To Nga graduated from a Hanoi university in 1966 and became a
war correspondent of the Liberation News Agency, now Vietnam 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 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.
The complaint and related documents were handed over to the Crown Court of Evry city in the suburb of Paris.
From 1961-1971, US troops sprayed more than 80 million litres of
herbicides - 44 million litres of which were AO, containing nearly 370
kilograms of dioxin - over southern Vietnam.
As a result, around 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the
toxic chemical. Many of the victims have died, while millions of their
descendants are living with deformities and diseases as a direct result
of the chemical’s effects.
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