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Thanks to Eric for this:
GOOD NEWS : INTERNATIONAL COURT INDICTS DOW & MONSANTO
For over three decades, Dow and Monsanto have denied that Agent Orange
is toxic, thereby avoiding billions of dollars in financial liabilities
resulting from the massive and indiscriminate spraying of the toxic
defoliant during the Vietnam War. In a landmark lawsuit last month, a
Seoul, Korea High Court ruled against Monsanto and Dow in favor of
Korean veterans who fought in the Vietnam War and have suffered serious
health injuries from Agent Orange. The court ruled there is ample
evidence that Monsanto and Dow knew how toxic Agent Orange was before
the corporations dumped 19 million gallons of the now banned herbicide
on Vietnam between 1965 and 1972.
The court said there is conclusive scientific data connecting Agent
Orange with 11 types of medical conditions, including non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, prostate cancer and diabetes. Empowered by
the successful lawsuit, Korean and Vietnamese veterans will rally
outside the White House in April, calling on the U.S. government to
assist in efforts to pay the victims of Agent Orange compensation for
medical costs associated with exposure to the herbicide.
--
02-15-2006
Korean Soldiers & Vietnamese Civilians Sue Dow & Monsanto for Poisoning
Them with Herbicide Agent Orange
From: Korea Times
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200602/kt2006021517452111970.htm
Koreans, Vietnamese Join Hands for Agent Orange Compensation
By Kim Tong-hyung Staff Reporter
Korean war veterans and Vietnamese civilians will make joint efforts
to seek compensation from U.S. manufacturers of Agent Orange for their
alleged damage from the defoliant chemical widely used during the
Vietnam War.
The retired soldiers and war-zone civilians from both countries have
recently been engaged in legal battles over the harmful effects of Agent
Orange, claiming that exposure to it caused skin disease, diabetes,
cancer and birth defects.
The Korean Victims of Agent Orange Veterans Association (KAOVA) said
it will join a group of Vietnamese civilians to hold a rally in front of
the White House in Washington sometime during April, calling for the
U.S. government to provide a framework for compensation.
The Vietnamese group had their compensation claim rejected by a U.S.
federal court in New York last year, which ruled that there is no proven
link between Agent Orange and the medical conditions suggested by the
plaintiffs such as birth defects, miscarriage and cancer.
The KAOVA said it plans to hold a seminar in Hanoi next month with its
Vietnamese counterpart to discuss their joint efforts for compensation,
which could possibly include further legal actions.
It is the first time that the civilians of both countries have joined
efforts to seek compensation from the U.S. government and its
contractors for wartime damages.
``We hope that our planned rally in Washington will increase
international focus on the people suffering from effects caused by
exposure to Agent Orange,вово said KAOVA spokesman Kang Chang-ub.
``More than one million former soldiers and civilians in Vietnam are
suffering from the effects from Agent Orange, so combining efforts with
them will certainly help our cause,вово he said.
``The recent ruling by the Seoul High Court and other recent studies
acknowledging the chemicalвоs association with various medical conditions
will certainly add strength to our call for compensation,вово he said.
According to U.S. government records, the American army used more than
19 million gallons of Agent Orange to spray around Vietnamвоs
battlegrounds from 1962 to 1971, hoping to destroy forest cover and
undergrowth that shielded enemy troops from view.
War veterans from Korea, the U.S. and Vietnam, along with a large
number of civilians, claimed they have been suffering from severe
medical effects caused by exposure to chemical.
Korea sent more than 320,000 troops to Vietnam to fight alongside the
United States against the North Vietnamese communist forces during the
1965-73 war, accounting for the largest outside contribution.
According to the Ministry of Patriots and Veteran Affairs, there are
more than 131,000 Koreans who claim they have suffered from illnesses
associated with Agent Orange.
In a landmark decision last month, the Seoul High Court ruled two U.S.
makers of Agent Orange, Dow Chemical and Monsanto, to pay 63 billion won
($62 million) to a group of 6,700 Korean war veterans who first filed
lawsuits against the U.S. companies in 1999.
The court associated Agent Orange with 11 types of medical conditions,
including non-Hodgkinвоs lymphoma, Hodgkinвоs disease, prostate cancer and
diabetes.
It also added that the defoliants produced by the U.S. companies
contained dioxins, toxic substances known to cause cancer in humans, in
excess of permitted levels.
However, the ruling had more of a symbolic value than actual impact,
as there is little Korean authorities could do should the U.S. chemical
makers refuse to abide by the court orders, since both companies have no
listed properties in Korea.
Although Korean authorities could seize the patent rights owned by the
U. S. companies, their combined value is believed to be minuscule
compared with the 63 billion won the High Court ordered in compensation.
If the U.S. companies refuse to pay the plaintiffs, the Korean war
veterans will have to take their legal battle to the United States for
possible compensation. However, a U.S. court has already rejected a
compensation claim by Korean war veterans in 1994.
Over contentious lawsuits in past years, a U.S. court has never
associated Agent Orange with health problems other than minor skin
disorders, citing the lack of scientific proof that the defoliant was
linked serious conditions such as cancer and birth defects.
In 1984, seven U.S. chemical companies, including Dow Chemical and
Monsanto, paid out $180 million won to U.S. war veterans who claimed
that they suffered medical conditions caused by Agent Orange.
However, it was settlement reached after a federal judge persuaded the
companies to buy themselves out of protracted litigation, with none of
them admitting of doing anything wrong.
In rejecting the claims of the Vietnamese groups last year, the U.S.
federal court also ruled that the chemical companies cannot be held
liable for the medical damages since they were ordered by the U.S.
government to produce Agent Orange.
KAOVA officials hope that new scientific evidence gathered over the
years about the dangers of Agent Orange could provide them some hope in
possible court battles in the future.
thkim@...
02-15-2006 17:45
CopyrightD"m KoreaTimes.co.kr
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