(VOVWORLD) -The Paris Court of Appeals' hearing, which lasted for four hours on Tuesday, has yet to rule on a lawsuit filed by Vietnamese-French Tran To Nga against 14 US chemical companies that supplied Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin to the US army during the war in Vietnam.
Two lawyers who volunteered to support Nga in the lawsuit, Bertrand Repolt and William Bourdon, rejected the judicial immunity of the US chemical firms, saying the firms were aware of the dangers of dioxin, but provided no warnings or preventive measures, so cannot hide behind the US government to deny any responsibility.
 Éric Coquerel, Chairman of the Finance Committee of the French National Assembly (Photo: VOV-Paris) |
Éric Coquerel, Chairman of the Finance Committee of the French National Assembly, said: “This was a crime against humanity. Agent Orange was sprayed for many years throughout Vietnam, causing permanent sequelae for at least 5 million people, a truth which can’t be forgotten. This is an important fight, which is why I - a Member of Parliament - stand here as I did a few years ago at Trocadéro Square to support Tran To Nga.”
 Tran To Nga files a lawsuit against 14 US chemical companies that supplied Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin to the US army during the war in Vietnam (Photo: VOV-Paris) |
Tran To Nga said: “My fight for justice for victims of Agent Orange is becoming better known. When people express their support, it makes me more confident and gives me strength for this fight, which could take many years.”
The Paris Court of Appeals is scheduled to announce its ruling on August 22.