Mr. John Percy. Photo: VNA

“Agent Orange Justice (AOJ) - Australia Vietnam Solidarity Network” of Australia yesterday launched a campaign calling for more support to Vietnamese AO victims and to hold American Chemical Companies responsible for cleaning up the contaminated environment and pay compensation to AO victims in Vietnam. 

Present at the ceremony were designate Senator Lee Rhiannon of the Green Party, Vietnamese Consul-General in Australia, Mai Phuoc Dung, representatives from parties, charity organisations and overseas Vietnamese.

Addressing the event Mr. John Percy, National Secretary of the Australian Democratic Socialist Party appealed to more people to join the Vietnam-Australia Union System’s campaign to bring about justice for Vietnamese AO victims. The Union System has launched an website http://www.agentorangejustice.org.au, to attract more support from the community to Vietnamese AO victims and help people understand the serious long-term consequences of Agent Orange which the American military sprayed in Vietnam during the war.

 Mr. Percy stated that the Australian people will always be side-by-side with Vietnamese people to help Vietnam get justice for AO victims. 

For his part, Vietnamese Consul-General in Australia, Mai Phuoc Dung highly appreciated the initiative of AOJ and promised to work closely with AOJ in the campaign for Vietnamese AO victims’ justice.

AOJ was established to raise the Australian people’ awareness of the serious consequences of Agent Orange as well as raise money for Vietnamese AO victims. The organisation is in the framework of a campaign, which aims to mobilise international community to demand that the American Government to take responsibility for long-term consequences that they left behind during the war in Vietnam, from 1961 to 1971.

Source: VNS

Translated by Tran Hoai