Vedan Vietnam couldn’t reach an agreement about compensation with HCM City farmers on July 20 so it asked to have another meeting on July 23.

The meeting between Vedan Vietnam and HCM City’s farmers on July 20.

At the negotiation on July 20, scheduled as the last, Vedan’s lawyer Tran Van Khanh said the firm received 900 claims from farmers in Can Gio district, HCM City, but farmers couldn’t show foundations to calculate their losses caused by Vedan.

“We don’t avoid our responsibility, but compensation must be paid based on clear losses,” the lawyer said.

He defended Vedan’s viewpoint that thousands of people and hundreds of companies discharge waste water to the Thi Vai river so it is inaccurate to say that Vedan is the major source of pollution.

The lawy didn’t agree with the way to calculate loss of the Institute of Natural Resources and Environment: calculating the loss for one year and multiply with 14 to have the total loss. He said that it would be calculating the loss in each year separately and adding them up to have the total loss.

The lawyer of HCM City Farmers’ Association, Nguyen Van Hau, insisted: “Under the law, if you cause losses for others, you have to compensate, otherwise we would have to sue against Vedan.”

Hau asked to stop the meeting, though it only lasted 15 minutes.

Vedan made concessions, agreeing to raise compensation from 7 to 12 billion dong.

However, Can Gio district chairman Doan Van Son confirmed the final claim is 32 billion dong.

Vedan Vietnam general director Yang Kun Hsiang asked for one more meeting on July 22 to have the last negotiation with farmers.

Meanwhile, Ba Ria-Vung Tau will submit its complaint against Vedan on July 25. Dong Nai has decided to not sue Vedan, but negotiate to seek compensation.

The Thi Vai River begins in Long Thanh district, Dong Nai province, runs through Ba Ria - Vung Tau province and HCM City’s Can Gio district, before pouring into the East Sea. Its total length is some 76 kilometers and its total basin area is some 300 square kilometers.

On September 8, 2008, the Environmental Police Agency and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s (MoNRE) inspectors caught Vedan discharging untreated waste water into the Thi Vai River. The company polluted the river for 14 years with up to 105.6 million liters of untreated wastewater per month. The toxic water killed farmers’ fish and shrimp and ruined farmland along the river’s banks.

MoNRE suspended the plant’s wastewater discharge license and fined the company 267.5 million dong ($15,030). The ministry also demanded another 127 billion dong ($7.14 million) from the company in overdue environmental fees. The company paid the fine and fees in three installments.

Vedan has not yet compensated affected farmers.

PV