German media: plaintiffs and supporters of Tran To Nga’s lawsuit not deterred

A story about Tran To Nga's lawsuit in Junge Welt newspaper (Photo: VNA)

Berlin – Many newspapers of German have run stories highlighting the lawsuit lodged by Vietnamese French Tran To Nga against 14 multinational chemical companies that produced the toxic chemicals sprayed by the US army in Vietnam during the war, affirming that the plaintiff and her supporters are not deterred by the ruling of a French court that the case fell outside its jurisdiction.

An article posted by the Junge Welt newspaper on May 11 reported that Nga, who worked as a reporter of the Liberation News Agency (which is Vietnam News Agency now) during the anti-US war, was exposed to Agent Orange/dioxin sprayed by the US army, which caused many diseases to her and her children.

The article quoted Nga as saying in an online talk last week that whatever the ruling of the court is, she will continue the struggle for justice that has been conducted for over 10 years. She affirmed that she is ready to pursue the lawsuit.

At the talk, Ton Nu Thi Ninh, Vice President of the Vietnam Peace Committee, said that it is necessary to stay persistent as the objectives of the lawsuit is not merely to claim compensation but also make the US to acknowledge and bear their responsibility.

The article said that the US military sprayed more than 80 million litres of toxic chemicals across the south of Vietnam to destroy forest which was the shefter of those who fought for their nation’s independence. The chemicals also destroyed the crop of Vietnamese farmers, and caused horrible consequences that more than 4 million Vietnamese people are suffering serious health problems. The article noted that while refusing to compensate victims in Vietnam, the US has paid compensation to US veterans exposed to AO/dioxin during the war in Vietnam.

The image of AO/dioxin victims in a story about the lawsuit in DW newspaper (Photo: VNA)

Meanwhile, the DW also ran a story giving in-depth information of the process of the lawsuit and the Evry court’s ruling.

Like Nga, her children, including a daughter died when she was just 17 months old, suffer from typical diseases caused by AO/dioxin such as diabetes, heart diseases and asthma. A laboratory in Germany has confirmed that the cause is high contamination of dioxin in their blood. However, the producers of the toxic chemicals have rejected their responsibilities, it noted.

The author commented that the court in Evry tended to protect the producers of the chemicals when ruling that the case fell outside its jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, the pain of AO/dioxin victims continues as the toxic chemical has contaiminated soil for dozens of years, staying in victims’ bodies and modifying there genes, stressed the author.

Other newspapers such as Spiegel and Focus, also ran stories highlighting the fight for justice of Nga, underlining that if she did not take the case to the court, the tragedy of victims will forever be buried under the dust of the past.

Nga, 79, accuses 14 multinational chemical companies, including herbicide manufacturer Monsanto (now under the Bayer Group of Germany), of supplying the herbicide and defoliant chemical - Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin, which was used extensively by the US army between 1961-1971 in Vietnam, causing serious consequences for 4 million people and severely poisoning the environment.

The woman, also an AO victim, has pursued the lawsuit for over a decade. After the ruling on May 10, Nga said she will appeal immediately, kicking off a new journey no matter how difficult it will be.

She emphasised that she will be at the forefront of a march in Paris on May 15 to oppose Monsanto and reiterate the lawsuit.