Vietnam experts demand Indochina Marshall Plan
The United States has a major responsibility in the reconstruction of
Indochina following the Vietnam War, including providing aid to war
victims,
delegates to an international conference on the aftermath of the Vietnam
War
said here.
The question of American responsibility, expected to feature high in a
closing statement Sunday, was the object of sometimes bitter debate
during
the three-day session, with some delegates calling for a new Marshall
Plan
for Indochina.
The core debate focused on the toxic defoliant Agent Orange, which US
troops
sprayed on the region's tropical jungles in an attempt to keep North
Vietnamese troops from hiding in the dense vegetation.
Aid and humanitarian aid to long-term victims, the securing of so-called
hot
spots -- areas contaminated by Agent Orange -- and research on medical
effects of chemical warfare were not contradictory themes, experts here
said.
Wayne Dwernychuk, a Canadian researcher on the subject, has argued that
long-term effects of Agent Orange are still visible in the northern
Vietnam,
evidenced by its reduced diversity of plants and animals, soil erosion
and
unproductive land.
"I foresee decades of research before anything comes out and
humanitarian
help is initiated," he said in a reference to establishing definitive
cause
and effects links between chemicals used by the United States and
ailments
such as cancer and diabetes observed in bombed areas.
"But the precautionary principle says we don't need 100 percent
scientific
evidence if there is any kind of evidence at all," he added, stresing:
"Help
must arrive as research goes on."
Experts here are using the Vietnam War as a yardstick by which to
measure
the long-term environmental damage of armed intervention.
The three-day conference brought together scholars, scientists and
officials
from non-governmental organizations for a far-reaching look at the
economic,
ecological and health effects of war.
By the end of the war, the US army had dumped some 57 million litres
(13.8
million gallons) of Agent Orange containing about 180 kilogrammes (400
pounds) of the toxic ingredient dioxin across Vietnam.
The population living today in the hot spots daily ingest products grown
on
this contaminated land and drink its water, said delegate Lady Borton,
who
has represented the Quaker Service in Vietnam since 1975.
Mental illness, malformation, increased child mortality are also
long-term
suspected consequences of the Vietnam War.
But Vietnam has not yet received compensation from the United States for
damages and losses due to use Agent Orange, although Washington recently
declared it was ready to provide humanitarian aid.
Last March both countries signed an accord for the first time since the
war
to conduct joint research on the effects of Agent Orange.
Thousands of US soldiers have, however, received payment to offset
complaints about the health impact of exposure to the chemical.
But if Washington admits liability in Vietnam, asked Lady Borton, what
will
the consequences be in other parts of the world in which it has
intervened
militarily.
"If the US does admit their responsibility in Vietnam, what about
everywhere
else in the world," she asked.
Organizers of the conference -- including US and Vietnamese officials --
believe that the fallout of US intervention in southeast Asia, which
ended
with a final withdrawal in 1975, will provide a better understanding of
"past, present and future wars."
"We hope that the knowledge that emerges from this conference will not
only
help to repair damage from the war in the countries affected -- Vietnam,
Laos and Cambodia -- but that it will also serve to analyze the
long-term
consequences of other wars," conference organizers said in a statement.
Agence France Presse - July 28, 2002
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