Tuesday, December 7, 2010

US congressmen support Vietnam’s Agent Orange victims

http://english.vovnews.vn/Home/US-congressmen-support-Vietnams-Agent-Orange-victims/201012/122078.vov

Members of the US congress and the US Department of State have shown their support for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin during a visit to the US by a delegation from the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA).

The visit was made from November 22 to December 4 at the invitation of the US’s Veterans for Peace (VFP) organization and the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC) also based in the US.

The Vietnamese delegation met with the leaderships of the VFP and VAORRC to discuss assistance for AO victims and future cooperation, especially when commemorating the 50th anniversary of the start of the dioxin war against Vietnam on August 10, 1961.

They also met with congressman John Conyers, Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary under the US House of Representatives, congressman Eni F. H. Faleomavaega, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment under the Committee on Foreign Affairs at the US House of Representatives, and US Representative Bob Filner.

These US parliamentarians expressed their support for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange and welcomed VAVA’s efforts to assist the victims. They stated that the US administration must attach more importance to settling the aftermaths of dioxin in Vietnam.

Mr Faleomavaega said that he regretted not having done enough for the victims in Vietnam and called on both the US and Vietnamese government to take responsibility and address the problem.

During the delegation’s meeting with representatives from the US Department of State, the US side confirmed that the US Department of State gives a high priority to solving the dioxin issue in Vietnam.

1 comment:

  1. Support, support you say? How about addressing(sp) the AO maladies in the US of A FIRST? Lets not forget that 40 years after the fall of Saigon, US troops still have to fight for compensation.
    Talk remains cheep. High priority? So high that the chemical companies basically, are now exempt from litigation and any settlements will be tax payers dollars.

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