(VNA): General Vo Nguyen Giap on March 1 criticised the US Government and chemical producers for shirking their responsibility for compensating victims of Agent Orange which they sprayed during the war in Vietnam 30 years ago. 

General Giap, who led the Vietnamese army to the Dien Bien Phu victory over the French colonialists, said so in a letter welcoming the initiative taken by the France-Vietnam Society to hold an international conference on the consequences of Agent Orange in Paris on March 11-12. 

He said although gunfire ended and peace was restored in Vietnam in 1975, the Vietnamese people continue to suffer from heavy consequences of the prolonged war, especially Agent Orange/Dioxin sprayed by US forces in the South of Vietnam.

"Many Vietnamese victims, including women and children, have died of A/O related diseases. Millions of others are suffering critical diseases while tens of thousands of children have been born with congenital deformities. They are facing numerous difficulties in both their material and spiritual lives, and are a heavy burden on their families and on society," said General Giap.

He said despite great efforts made by the Government and people of Vietnam as well as the international community to alleviate the plight of these victims, the assistance remains too small to meet demand.

In sympathy with these victims, an international conference held in Stockholm, Sweden, in July 2000, called on the UN, the US Government and chemical producers who supplied their Dioxin-containing products for use during the war in Vietnam to join efforts to overcome the consequences of the chemical.

"Regrettably, those who committed the crime against the Vietnamese people are trying to shirk their responsibility for their crime," stressed the general.

Vietnam itself has held two conferences entitled "For Agent Orange victims", one in Ho Chi Minh City and the other in Hanoi.

In his letter, General Giap recalled that he attended and delivered a speech at the meeting held at the Opera House in Ha Noi during which he condemned the crime and called upon the Vietnamese people and international friends, including the American people and Government, to lend a helping hand to Agent Orange victims.

General Giap said he had met the Commander of the US Armed Forces in the Pacific region, US Ambassadors, and Admiral Zumwalt, who ordered the spraying of Agent Orange on Vietnam's southern region and whose son, an American soldier in the war, was exposed to this toxic chemical.

He said during these meetings he raised the opinion that it was the US's responsibility to work together with Vietnam to resolve the lingering aftermaths of the war, including the issue relating to Agent Orange victims, and that his opinion received support from these people.

On the lawsuit against the US chemical firms filed by the Association of Vietnamese Agent Orange/dioxin victims and a number of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims, General Giap said the Vietnamese Agent Orange victims filed the lawsuit not only for their own interests but also for the legitimate interests of Agent Orange/dioxin victims in other countries, including those in the US.

Public opinion everywhere has expressed support for the legitimate lawsuit of those Vietnamese Agent Orange victims who have suffered greatly, General Giap noted, adding "The lawsuit is not only for the sake of the present generation but also for the future generations and it is not only for Vietnam but also for  humankind."

"We have to launch a large international movement to gain support for Vietnam's lawsuit and to reach an international decision to ban the use of Agent Orange/Dioxin in any future armed conflicts," General Giap stressed.

He expressed his hope that the conference will make clear the responsibilities of those people who waged the chemical war in Vietnam, seriously violating international law.

General Giap appealed to the international community to pay attention to the fate of the Vietnamese Agent Orange victims./.