France: the historic trial of Agent Orange
Spraying Agent Orange during the Vietnam War © The LIFE Images Collection via G - Dick Swanson
Text by: Arnaud Jouve Follow
15 min
Ten years of preparation, six years of trial to arrive for the first time at the hearings of pleadings which will lead to a verdict.
This trial, which takes place at the tribunal de grande instance of Évry in France, pits a Franco-Vietnamese woman, victim of Agent Orange spread during the Vietnam War by the Americans which poisoned several million people, to chemical companies which produced the poison.
Interview with André Bouny.
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During
the Vietnam War
(1960-1975) which pitted the United States against the national liberation movement, the American army dumped on Vietnam three and a half times the tonnage of bombs dropped during the entire Second World War and massively used chemical weapons (346.5 million liters of chemical agents were reportedly dumped on Vietnam).
62% of these products known as "agent orange", containing dioxin, one of the most toxic poisons known, were sprayed on the territory by plane, or 84 million liters in Vietnam alone.
These products then migrated to land and water and continue to poison the population for generations.
Between 2.1 and 4.8 million people lived in the spread areas and were directly exposed to the defoliant during the war.
Today, more than 3 million people still suffer the consequences according to the Vietnamese Red Cross.
Multiple unsuccessful trial attempts have been initiated by victims in different countries of the world to have this tragedy recognized.
A last lawsuit was initiated in France six years ago on the complaint of Madame Tran To Nga, a Franco-Vietnamese victim, against 26 multinational chemical industry which manufactured this poison, including the American firms Monsanto and Dow Chemical .
For the first time, this trial will have a hearing on Monday January 25, 2021 in France which will lead to a verdict.
A historic trial for all the victims of Agent Orange.
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To read also: Vietnam: agent orange, trial of a chemical war
André Bouny
brought this fight for the recognition of the victims of Agent Orange to the lawyer William Bourdon and the complainant Madame Tran To Nga.
He carried out the first intervention on Agent Orange at the UN in March 2007. Founder of the charitable association DEFI Vietnam in 1994 and of the International Support Committee for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange (CIS), André Bouny is a world-renowned expert on this tragedy.
He is the author of the reference book on the subject,
Agent Orange
: Apocalypse Viêt Nam
, published by Demi-Lune editions, he is also the author of
Hundred years in Vietnam
, by Sulliver editions;
Vietnam, post-war trips
, and
Waiting for the verdict of Agent Orange's trial in France
, éditions du Canoë.
Also author on other themes of several books:
The Naufragés de la Grande Ourse
, to be published by Canoë editions and
Eight destinies of women, une férocité ordinary
, published by H Diffusion editions.
Agent Orange spraying during the Vietnam War by a US Army helicopter Huey Defoliation National Archives
RFI
: Explain to us what is at stake this Monday morning at the tribunal de grande instance of Évry (France) between the plaintiff Madame Tran To Nga and 26 firms which produced Agent Orange
?
André Bouny
: After six years of trial, we arrive at the hearing of pleadings, that is to say, the oral confrontation of the defense lawyers, who are the deputy lawyers of the place of Paris and the lawyers of the state firms. united.
The companies in the chemical industry, which produced this poison, have surrounded themselves with large law firms in the United States, but since they cannot come every time there is a pre-trial hearing. and to do technical and legal translations, they took substitute lawyers in France and called on the best lawyers in the Paris market.
So this Monday, the pleadings will oppose between 30 and 40 lawyers of the companies against the cabinet of William Bourdon composed of 3 lawyers: William Bourdon, Amélie Lefebvre and Bertrand Repolt.
Madame Tran To Nga's complaint consists in demonstrating and bringing to justice that she is a victim of Agent Orange because she presents a stack of pathologies which are recognized in connection with Agent Orange by the National Academy of Washington Sciences through its Institute of Medicine.
Reference institute which updates every two years, through its research, the list of new pathologies recognized in connection with the dioxin contained in Agent Orange.
On the strength of this, the complainant attacks the companies, not to be compensated financially - she is 78 years old - but to gain recognition for this tragedy which has been the fight of her life.
This lawsuit will only be valid for her.
Because even if there are a large number of victims, each one must prove in court that he was where the poison was spread, how it was contaminated, he must obtain testimonies, medical results which demonstrate by analyzes poisoning and the nature of diseases.
Ms. Tran to Nga, who is a victim of a blood disease, also evokes her daughters: one, whom she had given birth in the forest who died of the tetralogy of Fallot at 18 months, a disease characteristic of this poisoning and its others girls who are still alive but also have health problems because of this poison.
This Monday, we will arrive for the first time at a hearing of pleadings in a trial of Agent Orange, with a legal arsenal of a State.
Why is this trial so important?
According to the American Stellman report, drawn up by
Jeanne Mager Stellman
, between 2.1 and 4.8 million people who lived in the spread areas were directly exposed to the defoliant during the war.
Today, more than 3 million people still suffer the consequences.
Because following these aerial spraying, dioxin descended in the soil and in the water tables which supply the cities and the countryside and it is also found in sludge.
Vietnam is a country of water, there are 36 slopes which carry dioxin from where it was not, to new areas.
So even if the dioxin content goes down as it moves, it is contaminating more and more surfaces.
Not to mention that the Vietminh, that is to say the fighters from the North who had come to lend a hand to the Viêt-Cong of the South and to the independence nationalists - because there were not only Communists - then came back in the North and they had children with pathologies, with trans-generational effects demonstrated by studies which prove that poisoning can occur over several generations, and this also gives what are called child monsters who have developed teratogenic effects.
This trial, which only applies to Madame Tran To Nga, may trigger other initiatives in Vietnam and in other countries, because these dioxins have been used in multiple ways for the maintenance of forests for example or by large rail companies, it has even been used in playpens to keep weeds free.
What Madame Tran To Nga hopes is that if she were to win - which is far from certain because whatever the verdict there will be an appeal from one side or the other - it will encourage other victims to do the same.
This is why this trial is historic because it will set a precedent that can be used by all victims.
Demonstration in support of the victims of Agent Orange in South Korea AFP
Have there been a lot of other unsuccessful legal action attempts?
There have been attempts in the United States to take legal action by veterans of the military who have been similarly affected by their own spraying.
These attempts were never successful so as not to create a precedent.
In the United States, justice is above all jurisprudential and therefore if a victim were to win, it would trigger the recognition of all other procedures.
The companies especially don't want that.
The US courts, for example, recently awarded a
California gardener, Johnson
, more than $ 140 million (in the first instance it was a question of $ 400 and a few million).
However, there are over 14,000 lawsuits against these companies in the United States alone and there are more around the world.
So what they don't want is for there to be precedents.
There was also a lawsuit in South Korea at the Seoul High Court which
ordered Monsanto and Dow Chemical
to pay certain sums to their veterans who intervened alongside the Americans, as was the case with the New Zealanders. , Australians, Thais, Canadians, but there were underground diplomatic maneuvers and the victims never heard of restitution.
With the trial in France, we are really reaching a point in the procedure never reached.
What is historic is that for the first time the trial ends up with a hearing of pleadings and a verdict and in addition with a legal arsenal of an independent state.
There is what is called the monopoly of the public prosecutor's office over French judges.
If the French state considers that the trial is likely to cost more because, for example, the United States will retaliate economically on our exports which will lead to unemployment in France, the prosecution can block the trial.
This trial was conducted in civil, if it had been criminal, it is very likely that the monopoly of the prosecution would have blocked the complaint.
What bothers the companies the most is that it has to do with war.
When it is a purely civil matter, it does not reach the government, the military-industrial markets, it is a civil matter between civilians.
What is also historic is reaching this level which affects the war industry.
What happened during these six years of proceedings?
During these six years, companies have tried all kinds of actions.
They have created legal incidents using the settlement;
at one point, they tried to reverse the lawsuit to their advantage by saying that there were people meeting in court and smearing the names of firms like Monsanto or Dow Chemical - when there is no deliberated - they therefore attempted to sue for libel.
There was a real danger there for the defense but the judge at the time did not follow them on this path.
Madam Tran To Nga was able to benefit from a lot of support who took care not to be overwhelmed by this kind of event which does nothing at first, but which on the other hand can be counterproductive.
Not so long ago, the firms even asked for the wartime pay slips of Madame Tran To Nga who was a journalist.
However, there was no payroll, it was war, she was trying to survive on the Ho Chi Min trail by getting by in the forest to eat and the companies know very well that she will never be able to produce pay slip.
Madame Tran To Nga is old and sick, she is 78 years old.
The objective for firms is to gain time while waiting for her to die, because if she were to die, everything would stop.
His daughters, similarly affected, could take over, but it would become very complicated.
Lately, those in charge of these companies, directors of boards of directors, CEOs, have asked to attend the trial, which is unheard of.
Even following the
Bhopal disaster in India
(the explosion of a chemical plant in 1984 which has left more than 7,500 dead to date) they have not moved.
But here we are dealing with the military.
Behind, there are issues of supplies of military-industrial complex which also involves chemistry.
It is not even known whether they will be present at the trial.
They managed to postpone the pleadings hearing initially scheduled for October 15, 2020, to Monday January 25, 2021, on the pretext that the courtroom was not large enough to accommodate everyone during the Covid-19 period.
Now they say planes from the United States can no longer land in France due to Covid-19 and they are asking for a further postponement, hoping for the death of the complainant.
They are playing the clock.
But the date of January 25 has remained firm.
On the morning of January 25, the three defense lawyers will make their pleadings and after that it will be the opposing party with its multiple representatives.
Then there will be a summary called the concluding post that will be done and sent to everyone.
Then the judges will meet and deliberate and a verdict will be given within the next 15 days or a month.
Will this verdict be to the advantage of Madam Tran To Nga or the opposing parties?
In all cases, there will most likely be an appeal process which usually lasts a year.
In the meantime, there may be new arguments opposed by the companies, there may be pressure from the American government, but we must trust the judges.
Child victims of Agent Orange, in Tu Du Peace Village, Ho Chi Minh City.
André Bouny
If the verdict is in favor of the complainant, what will that change?
What will change first is recognition.
So far, the Americans have never done so.
If there is recognition on the part of the legal arsenal of an independent state, it is already recognition for all victims for what they are, while there has always been denial.
There will be some financial compensation for the victim, but above all it is an encouragement for other initiatives for other victims, past and future, given the trans-generational effects of Agent Orange.
If there is another trial, it can question international law in this area and it can contribute to the development of international law, but it takes a long time.
The State of Vietnam, for its part, cannot officially support this procedure, given the ever more intense diplomatic rapprochement with the United States, because of the Chinese expansionism which threatens it on the Paracel Islands and others.
Now, Vietnam is opening its deep-water ports to its former enemy, the United States, to ask it to protect it and this is of great interest to the United States, which can thus be present in an area not far from China and the United States. North Korea.
This trial has the sympathy of all of Vietnam for whom this poisoning is a real tragedy, but it does not have the official support of the government which is in the search for a good relationship with the United States.
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