Meets With Vietnamese Premier
by
Veterans for Peace
Hanoi - At a meeting with American veterans here yesterday, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged "the United States government to take responsibility for solving the aftermath of its war with Vietnam."
During the war, Mr. Dung emphasized, more than two million Vietnamese were killed, millions more were injured, and more than 300,000 are still missing. Moreover, three million people were exposed to toxic chemicals like Agent Orange sprayed by the U.S. military during the war.
Mr. Dung further urged the U.S. government to "listen to its conscience," and to cooperate with Vietnam's government by giving assistance to Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange to help them overcome the difficulties they face, and to aid in the clean-up of the dioxin contaminated environment.
Today, the veterans' delegation wrapped up a 10-day fact-finding trip where they met with families living with the effects of Agent Orange poisoning in Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City and several outlying towns and villages.
Speaking for the group, composed of representatives from Veterans For Peace (VFP, the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC), Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), Paul Cox stressed the groups' continued commitment to obtain justice for all victims of Agent Orange. Cox also announced that a bill seeking to fulfill this objective will soon be introduced into the U.S. Congress.
In addition to Mr. Cox, other members of the veteran's delegation included Susan Schnall of VAORRC, Mike Ferner, President of VFP, Geoff Millard, Board Chair of IVAW and VFP members Ken Mayers and Michael Uhl.
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