Lobby group the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) has joined India in calling for the Dow Chemical's sponsorship of next year's Olympic game to be cancelled.
The president of the VAVA, Nguyen Van Rinh has sent a letter to the games organising committee in London calling for the sponsorship to be cancelled because of Dow Chemicals violates the Olympic spirit by "manufacturing deadly chemicals that destroy the human body and mind".
Van Rinh, a Vietnam War veteran and representative of the National Assembly of Vietnam, said that during the war Dow was one of the main chemical companies that produced and sup[plied toxic chemicals to the US military for use in South Vietnam.
He said that as a result "millions have died and many others left writhing in pain from lethal diseases".
Van Rinh added that it is ironic that Dow is allowed to sponsor the Paralymipics when it "is responsible for creating three generations of severely disabled children and refuses to do anything to help them".
