HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
[Hour by hour news & analysis... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] [Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] . .**** US should take responsibility for addressing war aftermath: FM spokeswoman The United States has a spiritual and moral responsibility to help Vietnam settle war legacies, including those caused by Agent Orange/dioxin, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh, in Hanoi on March 11. Ms Thanh was replying to a correspondent from British news agency, Reuters, who wanted to know whether there had been an agreement between Vietnam and the US on the latter's provision of humanitarian aid to Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims, together with the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Vietnam-US joint research on the toxic chemical. The Reuters correspondent also asked whether Vietnam had given up its appeal to the US for the provision of such aid. Ms Thanh started that the Vietnamese people have been enduring heavy sufferings and losses left by the US was of aggression. Settling the war aftermath, particularly those left by AO/dioxin used by the US Army during the war in Vietnam, was a pressing humanitarian issue, the spokesperson added. She went on to say that representatives of Vietnamese and US scientists attending the Vietnam-US scientific conference on human health and the environmental effects of AO/dioxin had signed in Hanoi on March 10 an MoU, affirming the outcome of the conference and defining prioritised fields for conducting research on AO/dioxin effects on people's health and the environment in Vietnam. Ms Thanh described the MoU as a significant step forward for joint research co-operation between the United States and Vietnam. She pointed out that, despite its own difficulties, the Vietnamese government has been doing its utmost to overcome AO/dioxin consequences, including the exercise of supporting measures to ease the victims' miseries and investment into scientific studies in this domain. Vietnam welcomes co-operation and assistance by scientists, including those from the US, international organisations and other countries in conducting research and reducing adverse effects caused by AO and is ready to exchange views and reach agreement for co-operation plans in this domain, the spokeswoman said. "We hold that anyone with a conscience would support our argument that while promoting scientific studies, it is necessary at the same time to carry out relief activities to overcome the consequences for the victims," Ms Thanh said in conclusion. The US Ambassador to Vietnam, Raymond F Burghardt, admitted at the opening session of the seminar that the US army had sprayed more than 70 million litres of defoliant onto Vietnam between 1961 and 1971. Of the toxic chemical volume sprayed by the US army during the war in Vietnam, 45 million litres were Agent Orange, containing 170 kilograms of dioxin. According to available statistics, more than two million Vietnamese were affected by AO. This includes hundreds of thousands of children whose parents had been exposed to AO. These young people have suffered from a variety of maladies such as birth defects, paralysis and brain deficiency. (VNA) **** --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
