06 October 2004

Government Yellow On Agent Orange

New Zealand First is calling on the Government to compensate Vietnam War veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, and their families, as has been done by other nations whose servicemen were similarly affected.

Labour select committee members, with the support of some other committee members, arrogantly denied the inclusion of the New Zealand First minority report that also recommended that an apology be extended to the veterans and their families, according to spokesperson Pita Paraone.

“Successive governments have tried to deny the extent of harm, claiming there was not enough scientific evidence to support a causative link between exposure to Agent Orange and subsequent illnesses,” said Mr Paraone.

“What the select committee inquiry into the health effects of Agent Orange showed was that exposure to Agent Orange is linked to a range of health problems including cancers, blindness and birth defects in the children of the veterans.

“What was also established beyond any doubt was that New Zealand troops were in fact exposed to the aerial spraying of the defoliant by the United States Defence Force. This had been denied in various reports and inquiries over the years.

“Now that has been recognised it is time to allow some closure on what has been a long and dispiriting battle for validation and recognition of their war experiences by those veterans. New Zealand First insists this must include an apology and compensation.

“The lives of many of these men and their families have been irreversibly altered, not only by the ordeal of war, but also by the exposure to pathological toxins that have caused significant health problems and loss of quality of life,” said Mr Paraone.

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>