Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, Mar. 11 (VNA) -- The United States has a spiritual and moral responsibility to help Viet Nam settle war legacies, including those caused by Agent Orange/Dioxin, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh, in Ha Noi on Mar. 11.

Ms. Thanh made this reply in response to a correspondent from the British news service Reuters who wanted to know whether there had been an agreement between Viet Nam and the U.S. on the latter's provision of humanitarian aid to Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin victims together with the recently inked memorandum of understanding on Viet Nam-U.S. joint research on the hazard chemical. The Reuters correspondent also asked whether Viet Nam had given up its appeal to the U.S. for the provision of such aid.

The Vietnamese people have been enduring heavy sufferings and losses left by the U.S. aggressive war. Settling the war aftermaths, particularly those left by AO/Dioxin used by the U.S. Army during the war in Viet Nam, was a pressing humanitarian issue.

Representatives of Vietnamese and US scientists attending the Viet Nam-U.S. scientific conference on human health and the environmental effects of AO/Dioxin had signed in Ha Noi on Mar. 10 a memorandum of understanding, affirming the outcome of the conference and defining prioritised fields for conducting research on AO/Dioxin effects on people's health and the environment in Viet Nam. Thanh described the MOU as a significant step forward for joint research cooperation between the United States and Viet Nam.

Despite its own difficulties, the Vietnamese Government has been doing its utmost to overcome AO/Dioxin consequences, including the exercise of supporting measures to ease the victims' miseries and investment into scientific studies in this domain.

Viet Nam welcomes cooperation and assistance by scientists, including those from the U.S, international organisations and other countries in conducting research and reducing adverse effects caused by AO and is ready to exchange views and reach agreement for cooperation plans in this domain, the spokesperson said.

"We hold that anyone with a conscience would support our point that while promoting scientific studies, it is necessary at the same time to carry out relief activities to overcome the consequences for the victims," Ms.Thanh said in conclusion.

The U.S. Ambassador to Viet Nam, Raymond F. Burghardt, admitted at the opening session of the seminar that the U.S. army had sprayed more than 70 million litres of defoliant onto Viet Nam between 1961 and 1971.

Of the toxic chemical volume sprayed by the U.S. army during the war in Viet Nam, 45 million litres were Agent Orange, containing 170 kg of dioxin.

According to available statistics, more than 2 million Vietnamese were affected by AO. This includes hundreds of thousands of children whose parents had been exposed to AO. These young people have suffered from a variety of maladies such as birth defects, paralysis and brain defficiency.--VNA