Viewpoints Agent Orange Petition Update | Agent Orange Petition Update |
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8th December 2000 BVFS Secretary Len Aldis, today attacked the letter of reply he had received from the United States London Embassy. The letter, dated 5th December 2000, confirmed that the embassy will not accept the petition addressed to President Clinton ,"the embassy does not normally receive such petitions". The petition signed by over 1600 people calls upon President Clinton to initiate payment of compensation to the Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange, the chemical sprayed by American forces during the Vietnam War. The statement in the letter "Definitive scientific studies of the sources and effects of dioxins in Vietnam have never been done." is completely false said Mr Aldis. There have been studies, and carried out by internationally respected scientists. On May 28th 1996, President Clinton - based on the studies and report by the American National Academy of Sciences, which listed a number of illnesses related to the use of herbicides - agreed to pay compensation to the American Veterans, and their families that have been affected by these illnesses. Is the embassy now denying their own country's scientists? The embassy letter further states: "Claims that the deployment of Agent Orange and other dioxin-based defoliants in Vietnam caused current health problems among current Vietnamese citizens remain unproven in the absence of serious research". This is a vile insult to the many thousands of victims that have already died as a result of the use of Agent Orange. Today Vietnam has one million victims, one in 78 of it's population. Serious research has been done said Mr Aldis. In my visits to Vietnam I have met and seen many of these victims. President Clinton before he stands down on January 20th 2001, must face up to the terrible damage done by his county to the people and land of Vietnam, and admit responsibility, and he did to the U.S. veterans in his statement on May 28th 1996. |
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