Stranded dead fish on the Vietnamese coast. (Photo: twitter.com/IluvChargers)
Fishermen sue Taiwanese steel firm over massive fish kill
VIET NAM
Tuesday, September 27, 2016, 23:40 (GMT + 9)
Hundreds of Vietnamese fishermen have sued a Taiwanese steel company, accusing it of dropping toxic chemicals that caused a massive fish kill off the central Vietnamese coast in April.
The factory, owned by the Formosa Plastics Group, acknowledged in June that it was responsible for the pollution that killed large numbers of fish and pledged to pay USD 500 million to clean the coast up and compensate affected people, Reuters reported.
The fishing sector insists that the pollution created the country's worst environmental disaster, devastating the regional fishing and tourism industries, and sparked rare protests in the country.
An official report the Government issued for the National Assembly in July revealed that an estimated 115 tons of fish washed ashore along more than 200 kilometers of the central coast in April and that the disaster harmed the livelihoods of more than 200,000 people, including 41,000 fishermen.
Catholic priest Dang Huu Nam, who led the group of local fishermen, said 506 petitions have been submitted to a local court in Ky Anh town in central Ha Tinh province where the massive fish kill occurred.
"Based on the fact that Formosa admitted their mistake, based on the Vietnamese laws and the losses suffered by the fishermen, they have submitted their claims and they demand that Formosa be closed and compensate their losses as well as material and health losses they may suffer in the future," Nam pointed out.
The priest also said that many more fishermen are completing their files and he expects more than 100,000 fishermen to file petitions.
Meanwhile, the disaster unleashed a public outcry on social media and on the streets of big cities. Demonstrators vented their fury at both the government and Formosa, accusing them of a cover-up, ABC News informed.
According to media reports, such protests have been a headache for the authorities, who have accused anti-government groups of trying to exploit the disaster and stir up anger, with the aim of overthrowing the ruling Communist Party.
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