- HANOI (Reuters) - Hanoi has
accused the United States of waging chemical war in Vietnam and says the
two countries need to draw up a plan to repair the damage caused by the
defoliant Agent Orange.
Speaking at the end of a landmark scientific conference on the effects
of defoliants sprayed by U.S. forces during the Vietnam War, Vice Minister
of Science, Technology and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen said the two governments
now needed to discuss more than just research priorities.
"The objective is to bring dioxin contamination across Vietnam down
to internationally acceptable levels and do all that can be done to mitigate
the health effects," he said on Wednesday.
"The United States waged chemical warfare against Vietnam 30 years
ago. Cooperation with the U.S. is very necessary."
Looking ahead to bilateral talks on Friday, Nguyen said such cooperation
should include establishing a network of communal medical centres and providing
drugs to counter the effects dioxin, rehabilitation of those born with
birth defects and improved infrastructure in sprayed areas.
The United States stressed that the purpose of the Hanoi meetings should
be confined to assessing priorities for research into the effects of Agent
Orange and dioxin.
Asked if his agency was willing to discuss broader issues on Friday, U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency official William Farland said, "We
have said it's about research."
Anne Sassaman of the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
said the value of research went beyond Vietnam's borders, adding: "Vietnam's
experience may be unique, but dioxin exposure itself is a worldwide issue.
"All of us...go away from this meeting with some degree of responsibility
for making sure that this work moves forward."
MILLIONS OF GALLONS SPRAYED
U.S. forces dumped millions of gallons of Agent Orange on Vietnam during
the war that ended in 1975 in order to deny communist soldiers jungle cover.
Spraying was halted in 1971 after it was discovered its contained the most
dangerous form of dioxin, TCDD, and caused cancer in rats.
Vietnam estimates more than a million of its people were exposed to the
spraying, which it blames for tens of thousands of birth defects.
U.S. government scientists at the conference said such linkages would take
many more years to prove.
Some U.S. veterans receive government help for a range of diseases their
government recognises as "associated" with Agent Orange, but
Washington argues Hanoi dropped its calls for compensation when the two
countries normalised ties in 1995.
Vietnamese officials now tend to avoid demanding "compensation"
with its negative war connotations but say Washington should show "humanitarian
responsibility" by helping victims.
On Tuesday, the head of Vietnam's Red Cross, Nguyen Trong Nhan, said Agent
Orange victims could not wait years for more research to be conducted and
needed help now.
Vietnam Veterans of America, which has lobbied for years for compensation
for its members, said it was anxious to see more research in Vietnam that
would help show causal relationships with diseases.
"We feel...we can have answers in less than a few years," said
VVA president Tom Corey. "I am talking no more than three years there
can be significant answers by joint research."
About 7,500 U.S. veterans receive monthly payments from the U.S. government
for diseases associated with Agent Orange.
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