Children affected by Agent Orange receive treatment at a rehabilitation centre in Gia Lai Province. —VNA/VNS Photo Sy Huynh

 http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/2004-12/30/Stories/09.htm
 Friday, Demcember 31, 2004
US lawyers visit to gather evidence for dioxin trial

HA NOI — A group of US lawyers representing Vietnamese Agent Orange (AO) victims against US chemical firms will visit Viet Nam next week to collect more evidence in preparation for the hearing of the case to be held on February 28, 2005.

They will tour some areas in the country where the American army sprayed Agent Orange/dioxin during the war and meet Vietnamese AO victims.

The lawyers will also take part in a special cultural and art programme, entitled Chung Ta Khong Vo Cam (We Care), which will be broadcast on Viet Nam Television from Ha Noi, Da Nang, HCM City on January, 6, 2005.

Under the court’s ruling, the deadline for the Vietnamese Agent Orange victims to submit their feedback to the federal District Court in Brooklyn, New York, is January 18, 2005. The 37 US firms that produced the Agent Orange defoliant sprayed on Viet Nam during the war must present their responses on February 8, 2005.

The first pre-trial hearing of the case was held on March 18, 2004.

On Tuesday, the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin announced that by December 20 this year it had raised approximately VND3 billion and collected about 9.3 million signatures from around the world in support of the AO victims.

The US army sprayed more than 80 million litres of toxic chemicals (with Agent Orange accounting for 61 per cent) in southern Viet Nam between 1961-1971.

Although the war ended 30 years ago, it has left serious consequences for the country. About 4.8 million people exposed to the toxic chemicals during the war are suffering from incurable diseases. — VNS