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May 28, 2005
Bhopalis write to Prime Minister in their own blood
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE IN BHOPAL
Press Statement for Immediate Release, May 27, 2005
Bhopal survivors today wrote letters in their own blood to the Prime Minister of India and the CEO of Indian Oil Corporation, demanding that the government-owned corporation abandon plans to do business with Union Carbide or its new owner Dow Chemical.
The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and their supporters meanwhile launched a nation wide boycott of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), urging people all over the country "DON'T FILL YOUR CAR WITH BHOPALI BLOOD. REMEMBER BHOPAL, BOYCOTT INDIAN OIL”.
Indian Oil has recently approved a technology purchase agreement with Dow Chemical to source Union Carbide’s technology for the Mono Ethylene Glycol unit at its upcoming Naptha refinery in Panipat, Haryana. The campaigners also opposed government plans for disposal of hazardous chemical waste in and around the abandoned Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, saying that it will create yet another disaster in Bhopal.
The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal had written to Shri. Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister of Petroleum in February this year calling for a suspension of the matter of purchasing Union Carbide technology. The private secretary to the Minister of Petroleum responded by stating that technology from Dow was most “technocommercially viable” and that the technology purchase involved Dow and not Union Carbide. Alleging “lack of screening of investment” at the Ministry of Petroleum, the Bhopal campaigners presented evidence that establishes that the technology IOC is purchasing is indeed METEOR EO 180 catalyst based technology owned by Union Carbide Corporation. The campaigners condemned the Petroleum Ministry’s attempts to do business with a corporation that has killed over 20 thousand Bhopalis and continues to abscond from Indian courts.
In Bhopal Mr. Ilyas Ismail, President, Nagar Vahan Seva Sangh , Mr. Syed Israr Hassan, President, Auto Rickshaw Owner’s Association, Mr. Mohammed Anwar Khan, President, Private Bus Owner’s Association, Mr. Nawab Khan, President, Taxi Drivers Union (Congress), Mr. Baba Khan, President, Mini Truck Owner’s Association have supported the call for boycotting Indian Oil Corporation.
The boycott is also being launched in Mayiladuthurai, Tamilnadu, the constituency of Mr. Aiyar where a club of “Bullet” or “Royal Enfield” enthusiasts called Madras Bulls will ride to Chennai in a rally today. Mr Shahid Noor from Bhopal ki Aawaaz will be participating in the events in Mayiladuthurai. All India Van Drivers Association, with more than 7000 members, and “We Feel Responsible” a Chennai-based youth group are also joining the ICJB in launching the boycott.
The Bhopal based activists of ICJB condemned the attempts of the State and Central governments to help Dow / Union Carbide evade the liabilities for the reckless dumping of hazardous waste and contaminating ground water. They charged that the proposed Task Force for dealing with hazardous waste had too many representatives from government agencies with known record of gross incompetence and demanded that the Task Force must include scientists and engineers nominated by survivors’ organizations. Commenting on the plans for disposal of hazardous waste in a “Secured Landfill”, members of the ICJB said it will be a legal, technical and public health disaster of proportions matching the world’s worst industrial disaster.
The campaigners, however, agreed with official plans for “temporary containment” of toxic waste to prevent further contamination of soil and ground water during the rains. They said that this proposed step is no different from what members of ICJB set out to do in November 2002. The activists are strongly opposed to final disposal of toxic waste by the government as this will violate the “Polluter pays principle”, allow Dow/Carbide to go scot free and will impose grave environmental and health risks locally.
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Sanjay Kumar
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Contact :
House No. 12, Gali No. 2, Near Naseer Masjid, Bag Umrao Dulha, Bhopal Tel: 9303132298, 9329026319, 9826167369
For more information keep watching www.bhopal.net
Posted by bhola at 08:37 AM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2005
Amnesty International expresses concern over police brutality in Bhopal
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
AI Index: ASA 20/022/2005 (Public)
News Service No: 131
19 May 2005
India: Protestors who want clean drinking water face excessive and
unnecessary police force
Amnesty International is concerned about reports of excessive and unnecessary use of force against protesters by police in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on 17 May 2005. Amnesty International has received reports of police violence at approximately 12:30 on 17 May 2005 against some 300 protestors, including women and children. The protestors were opposing the failure of the Madhya Pradesh state government to provide clean drinking water to the communities affected by the ongoing contamination of the former Union Carbide plant in Bhopal.
Amnesty International calls for a prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation into the incident to examine whether the use of force by police was consistent with national law and international standards including the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms, and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials.
Amnesty International wishes to remind the authorities in Madhya Pradesh that under international standards, the use of force by law enforcement officials must be exceptional, and that force may be used only when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty.
Following such investigation, any officials reasonably suspected of having breached national law or international standards on the use of force should be brought to justice in proceedings which meet international standards of fairness. Those who have suffered harm as a result of excessive use of force should also be adequately compensated.
According to reliable sources, the protestors entered the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation office in Bhopal at around 11:30 am. Reportedly no one stopped the protesters from entering the building. While in the building, they chanted slogans and beat steel plates with spoons. Police, including 15 male police officers in riot gear, reportedly arrived on the scene around 12:30 and informed the protestors that no authorities were available to speak with them. Then, the police allegedly forcibly removed protestors, including pushing them down stairs, kicking some women in the chest and stomach, and beating people with sticks. Seven of the protesters were reportedly arrested, charged under the Indian Penal Code and held for approximately four hours.
The protesters were expressing concern that the 7 May 2004 directive of the Supreme Court of India to supply clean water to those communities affected by contaminated ground water from the Union Carbide factory site has not been implemented. Amnesty International calls on the Governments of India and Madhya Pradesh to fully implement the directive, ensuring a regular supply of adequate safe water for the domestic use of the affected communities
Background
In November 2004, Amnesty International released a report Clouds of Injustice – Bhopal Disaster 20 years on. The report documented human rights violations on a massive scale of those affected by the Bhopal gas leak in December 1984 and subsequent pollution, including people's rights to life and health, remedy, adequate standard of living as well as other rights.
Twenty one years ago around half a million people were exposed to toxic chemicals during a catastrophic gas leak from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. More than 7,000 people died within days. A further 15,000 died in the following years. Around 100,000 people are suffering chronic and debilitating illnesses for which treatment is largely ineffective.
A full set of Amnesty International recommendations addressing the human rights violations linked to the Bhopal gas leak and subsequent pollution can be found in the report at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA200152004?open&of=ENG-IND
Posted by bhola at 07:59 PM | Comments (0)
"You may beat us, but we are not beaten" say survivors
CHASING AWAY SLEEP WITH DRUMS AND SONGS
May 18, 2005
Press Statement by Survivor's organisations and supporters
Four organizations working on issues of the December '84 Union Carbide disaster and residents of the communities affected by ground water contamination due to Union Carbide's toxic chemical waste today condemned the Madhya Pradesh government for police brutalities on women and children taking part in a peaceful protest for a just demand.
The activists accused the state government of spreading false propaganda and expressed regret that several local newspapers demonstrated utter disregard for journalistic ethics and published one-sided and false reports of the state government and failed to represent the perspective of the demonstrators. They challenged the Madhya Pradesh government to produce just one photograph that shows the participants of the "Neend Udaao" campaign causing damage to the office of the Director, Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation. They said that representatives of different national and local media channels who were covering the demonstration were witness to the fact that people remained non-violent throughout the demonstration.
Meanwhile, the activists have lodged a formal complaint with the National Human Rights Commission against named police officials who attacked the peaceful demonstrators, beat women, children and others with sticks and kicked them on the chest and stomach. A police complaint against these officials has also been filed.
In a large public meeting held near Union Carbide today, the residents of the communities with contaminated ground water unanimously decided to continue with the "Neend Udaao"[Chase sleep away] campaign. As part of their next series of action tomorrow they will play drums and sing songs outside the residences of officials and ministers responsible for supplying water to the affected communities as per the decision of the Supreme Court of India.
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
Posted by bhola at 05:13 PM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2005
Police brutally beat women protesters
May 17, 2005
Press Statement by Bhopal Survivors' Groups
Over 200 residents from the communities affected by ground water contamination due to Union Carbide’s toxic chemical waste today stormed the office of the Director, Department of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation as part of their “Neend Udaao” (Wake-Up) campaign.
Banging steel plates the residents, most of them women, demanded full implementation of the May 7, 2004 order of the Supreme Court with regard to supply of water by the state government. According to their leaders - Rashida Bee, Syed M Irfan, Shahid Noor, Nawab Khan and Hajra Bi, residents of several communities are forced to drink water contaminated with poisonous and cancer-causing chemicals from their hand pumps due to inadequate supply of potable water.
Women demonstrating at the Director’s office expressed their frustration at the fact that despite the passage of one year, the state government is yet to implement the decision of the Supreme Court order fully. The women pointed out that only 14 % of the required amount of water was being supplied and several communities had no supply at all. They said many in their communities were suffering from cancers, stomach pain, giddiness, skin disorders, menstrual irregularities, headache and other health problems from drinking water from local hand pumps. They complained that the poisons in the ground water were stunting the growth of their children and were affecting their mental development.
The women waved copies of the written promise of the Director, Department of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation on October 14, 2004 to bring about improvement in “quality and increasing the quantity of water currently supplied through tankers.” The women demanded that considering the serious health damages caused due to the insufficient supply of potable water – the breach of promise and deliberate negligence of public officials should be punishable as criminal acts.
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
9303132298
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
9329026319
Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
9303122784
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
9826167369
Contact :
House No. 12, Gali No. 2, Near Naseer Masjid, Bag
Umrao Dulha, Bhopal 462 010
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
Posted by bhola at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
May 13, 2005
Dow rejects proposal to clean Bhopal using first-quarter profits
May 12, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The same man who appeared on BBC World TV last December as a Dow
representative to announce that Dow would finally clean up Bhopal [1]
showed up today at Dow's Annual General Meeting (AGM) to suggest the
same thing to Dow's board of directors and shareholders.
"We made an incredible $1.35 billion this quarter," said "Jude
Finisterra," aka Andy Bichlbaum of the Yes Men [2]. "But for most of
us, that'll just mean a new set of golf clubs. Let's do something
useful instead - like finally cleaning up the Bhopal plant site, or
funding the new clinic there [3]." Dow Chairman Bill Stavropolous
responded to "Finisterra's" suggestion with a curt dismissal [4].
The Yes Men joined other shareholder groups in Midland, including
Amnesty International, which condemns Dow's lack of response to the
Bhopal crisis as a human rights issue [5].
BANKERS EMBRACE "GOLDEN SKELETON" MASCOT
Two weeks ago at a London banking conference to which they had
accidentally been invited, two "Dow representatives" described a new
Dow computer program that puts a precise financial value on human
life.
The 70 bankers in attendance enthusiastically applauded the lecture,
which described various industrial crimes, including IBM's sale of
technology to the Nazis for use in identifying Jews, as "golden
skeletons in the closet"--i.e. lucrative and therefore acceptable.
Several of the bankers then posed for photos with "Dow Acceptable
Risk" mascot "Gilda, the Golden Skeleton," and signed up for licenses
for the "Acceptable Risk Calculator," which helps businesses determine
the exact point where human casualties will start to cut into profit,
and suggests the best regions on earth to locate ventures with
potentially very high death tolls.
See http://theyesmen.org/hijinks/dow/acceptablerisk.shtml for video
and photos of the event, and http://dowethics.com/risk/ to try out the
"Acceptable Risk Calculator" for yourself.
STATE DEPARTMENT FINDS FAKE DOW WEBSITE USEFUL
Dow may not appreciate the DowEthics.com website--but the US State
Department finds it quite useful, and refers requests for information
about Bhopal to various of its pages: see
http://www.dowethics.com/statedeptfoi/ for an example.
CONTACT: mailto:dowmedia@theyesmen.org
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] See http://theyesmen.org/hijinks/dow/bhopal2004.shtml
[2] Yes Men Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno had been given one Dow
"proxy" each by actual shareholders, giving them the right to attend
the annual meeting and address the Dow board.
[3] Two weeks ago, the Sambhavna Trust Clinic of Bhopal opened a new
wing to serve the victims whose numbers continue to grow due to
groundwater contamination from the uncleaned plant site. See
http://www.bhopal.org/ for information on how you can contribute.
[4] See http://theyesmen.org/hijinks/dow/2005agm.shtml for complete
statements and responses, including Yes Man Mike Bonanno's feverish,
red-eared tirade in a neck brace.
[5] See http://www.amnestyusa.org/business/dow_letters.html. See also
http://www.proxyinformation.com/dow/summary.htm and
http://www.TRWNews.net/
THE YES MEN'S ACCOUNT
http://www.theyesmen.org/hijinks/dow/2005agm.shtml
Yes Men "Jude Finisterra" (Andy Bichlbaum) and Mike Bonanno addressed the Dow Board at Dow's May 12, 2005 AGM. Here's the story.
Dow wasn't taking any chances at this year's Annual General Meeting (AGM). For the first time in Dow's existence, each and every shareholder was being searched on entry. A phalanx of guards had been hired, and a battery of eight metal detectors were set up at the entrance to the Midland, Michigan Center for the Arts. Every one of the two thousand shareholders who would show up had to empty pockets, check cellphones, let guards rifle through purses.
For the first time in history, even press weren't allowed in with recording devices; they stood outside, amazed at being barred, amazed afterwards at the Dow shareholders' muteness about what had transpired. What was all this about? Why the paranoia?
John, who was attending the meeting with Mike and Andy of the Yes Men, scouted the scene and returned to the car to explain the dire security situation. All gizmos went back in their bags: Andy took off his hastily fashioned neck-tie camera and wireless transmitter; Mike removed his neck-brace camera, wireless transmitter, camera deck. We'd known there'd be no recording devices allowed, but we hadn't thought they'd have mobilized so much technology to enforce the rule.
Now we were ready to pass through the guards and metal detectors. Andy tossed his cellphone, coins, and "golden skeleton" keychain into the dish before passing through. He still beeped. Oh well: he tossed in the little voice recorder he thought he'd be able to smuggle through; he'd even taken out the batteries and handed them to John for safe keeping.
Somehow, though, only his cell phone was taken by a Dow guard, in case it had a camera function; the voice recorder remained in the dish. Andy took it back, got the batteries from John in the bathroom and reinserted them.
It was soon very clear that many of the guards knew who we were. "Loved your movie," one of them pointedly said to Mike as we entered the meeting.
It suddenly occurred to us that we just might be the cause of all this nonsense. Dow was legally required to let us into the meeting since we were officially speaking on behalf of some actual shareholders, but they must have resented the extra expense of having to provide entertainment for guards.
The meeting was every bit as dull as one might expect. We sat with about two thousand others at the lovely Midland Center for the Arts, facing a row of chairs at which the Dow board were seated. Chair of the Board Stavropoulos officiated. He began by advising shareholders to vote against a resolution discouraging Dow's continuing emphasis on the production of toxic materials. Then CEO Andrew Liveris presented a Powerpoint presentation. Dow is number 34 on the fortune 500. That's bigger than Microsoft! Dow's profits are up 26% in the first quarter. That's worth more than a billion! Dow is doing really, really great! Finally, Liveris explained that sustainability is a "cornerstone" of Dow's business. Towards that end, they are supporting Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures society! Jean-Michel is the son of Jacques Cousteau! Jacques Cousteau meant a tremendous amount for the world's oceans! Dow's proud to be such a good corporate citizen!
Then the votes were counted. (Really the votes had already been counted. Not a soul raised a hand; the voting part was just ritual.) 43 million shares voted for considering the effects of toxics, 500 million shares against. Another example of "cornerstone" sustainability. But as Cousteau might say, tell it to the fish.
The regular meeting was adjourned, but everyone stuck around for question and answer period, which the SEC mandates as a time when shareholders are allowed to address the board. This year, questions were limited to two minutes rather than the usual three.
In an unprecedented move, Stavropoulos pre-empted questions about Bhopal by giving a lengthy lecture on the subject. The lecture was similar to what one can read on Dow's website, with some unusual details. For one thing, he proudly noted that Dow has generously funded a "state-of-the-art museum for the victims" of Bhopal [sic]. He also addressed the question of former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson's criminality by noting that the US government hasn't extradited him to India, where he's wanted - so it must be okay!
Stavropoulos's attention to Bhopal was extraordinary, considering that the company insists it bears no responsibility, and considering that it has successfully repelled a shareholder resolution on the matter and faces no concrete threat. In essence, Stavropoulos stood there exclaiming "Out, damn spot!" before 2000 shareholders for a full ten minutes.
John noted afterwards that it was his impression Stavropoulos seemed to be addressing each of the points that "Jude Finisterra" had made as Dow representative in December. At first Andy and Mike were incredulous - but the attention to Anderson's extradition did seem odd, come to think of it.... And if all the unprecedented security did have something to do with us, then why not this?
A series of shareholders stood up and made comments. Some talked about local dioxin contamination around Midland's Titabawasee River. A representative from Amnesty International discussed Dow's role in Bhopal as a human rights problem. And several other shareholder groups, including several groups of nuns, spoke on issues ranging from Genetically Modified crops to longterm contamination of Midland's Tittibawassee river.
Then it was Andy's turn at the microphone. He had written his name down on the speaker card as "Jude Finisterra," which is what the usher called out. "Our next question is from Jude Finisterra, a proxy," she said. "The topic is windfall profits."
"Hello Bill, shareholders," "Jude" said. "We made an incredible $1.35 billion this quarter. That's really terrific. But you know, for most of us, that'll just mean a new set of golf clubs. I for one would forego my golf clubs this year to do something useful instead - like finally cleaning up the Bhopal plant site, or funding the new clinic there. "Bill, will you use Dow's first-quarter profits to finally clean up Bhopal?" Dow Chairman Bill Stavropoulos responded to "Finisterra's" suggestion with a curt dismissal.
Then it was Mike's turn. He struggled to the microphone in his neck brace. As soon as he opened his mouth, it was clear this guy was no Jude Finisterra!
"Great job on the profits! I applaud your efforts." Mike started clapping. Eight times, while thousands sat silently watching. He finally gave up and resumed. "Great profits. Now I wanna see you use them to go after some of the creeps who are tarnishing Dow's good name! I'm looking around and most of the questions are from people who don't like Dow. Let's do something about that. We need to get aggressive!
"Of course you cant exactly broadside a bunch of nuns (gesturing at the representatives of the nuns) with a twenty gun shoot, and you can't just kick a disabled kid in the head, but at least you could take care of hooligans, like that guy who went on the TV news to announce that Dow was liquidating Union Carbide. That made a serious stock bounce, and I for one was freaked out! I'll bet a lot of you were! So, Mr. Stavropoulos, what are you doing about that criminal?"
Stavropoulos said one brief sentence in response: "Well, if you could tell us who that guy is. Next question?"
Leaving the Midland Center for the Arts, we're scrutinized by men on the roof with binoculars. Still not paranoid, we decide to go do some Dow tourism, and head over to the main Dow complex on Saginaw Road. We pull into one area and take pictures of a lovely sign.
Within seconds up pull four or five Dow security cars, followed by a supervisor. "We have the Yes Men in the Toyota," one of them radios in. Soon the real police arrive, followed by one of the Dow "Public Affairs" men we'd seen at the Center for the Arts arrives. "What's your policy?" one of the policemen asks the Public Affairs guy.
We briefly imagine we're done for, but they let us go after checking us out. Perhaps they've had enough of a hassle for one day....
Posted by bhola at 08:57 AM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2005
Survivors condemn MP Chief Minister's politically motivated attempt at voter bribery
May 12, 2005 - For immediate release
| Press Statement by Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh Right: Babu Lal Gaur, Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh |
|
Four organizations working among the survivors of the December ’84 Union Carbide disaster today strongly condemned yesterday’s decision of the Group of Ministers regarding inclusion of 20 non-affected municipal wards among those affected by the disaster. The organizations have jointly faxed a letter to the Prime Minister pointing out the absence of any scientific, legal or moral basis for declaring the 20 remaining wards as gas affected. In the letter to the Prime Minister, the organizations have alleged that the Chief Minister and his party’s petty political interests are the motivation behind the demand for inclusion of the 20 wards.
The organizations also condemned the Group of Ministers for wasting their time on irrelevant matters when such burning issues as medical relief and economic rehabilitation of survivors, clean up of soil and water, punishment of absconding criminals and supply of water to communities affected by ground water contamination remain to be addressed.
According to the leaders of the organizations the apex research institution in this country, Indian Council of Medical Research categorized 36 municipal wards of Bhopal as mildly, moderately and severely affected by the disaster and held that the remaining 20 wards were unaffected. The legal documents presented in different courts and the official plans for relief and rehabilitation in the last twenty years also mention 36 wards to be gas affected. The organizations have stated that if the government ignores the scientific facts and legal documentation and decides to include the 20 wards among those affected, they will oppose the decision through legal and extra legal means.
Rashida Bi, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Awaz
Rachna Dhingra Satinath Sarangi, ,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Contact :
House No. 12, Gali No. 2, Near Naseer Masjid, Bag Umrao Dulha, Bhopal
Tel: 9303132298, 9826167369, 9303122784, 9329026319
Posted by bhola at 05:11 PM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2005
Amnesty International demands Dow-Union Carbide appear in court
For immediate release:
May 9, 2005
Activists join nations around the world to demand justice for Bhopal victims
On May 11, Amnesty International members and supporters, along with the group Students for Bhopal, will participate in demonstrations at Dow Chemical (Dow) facilities around the country, including those in Texas and California. The protests, staged the day before Dow's Annual General Meeting, demand that Dow/Union Carbide Company (UCC) stops evading its responsibilities for the consequences of the 1984 gas leak at the UCC pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. These demonstrations will reinforce the concerns voiced in approximately 40,000 postcards, letters and petitions sent to Dow since last December from people in 22 countries.
More than 7,000 people died within a matter of days when toxic gases leaked from a UCC chemical plant in Bhopal, India in December 1984. Between the beginning of 1983 and the time of the disaster, a series of cost-cutting measures were implemented, and damaged or malfunctioning equipment was patched up rather than repaired, or replaced by sub-standard material. Today, twenty years after the Bhopal disaster, exposure to the toxins has resulted in the deaths of a further 15,000 people. Stockpiles of contaminants continue to pollute the water and soil, on which entire communities rely, affecting the health of those living in the area. As of February 2001, UCC is a fully-owned subsidiary of Dow.
For the international day of action, protestors will deliver contaminated Bhopal water and jhadoos-traditional Indian brooms-as a symbol of Amnesty International's demand that Dow-Carbide fully decontaminate and clean up the pollution it left behind, and provide full restitution for the damage caused to people's health and environment. Amnesty also demands that Dow-Carbide face justice: since 1991, UCC has refused to appear to face criminal charges of culpable homicide associated with the Bhopal disaster, and representatives of the company have been officially declared "absconders" by the Indian Government. Protestors will "serve" the company with an official summons from the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court in Bhopal.
"Massive suffering resulted from the UCC leak, yet Dow-Carbide continues to evade its responsibilities under the law," said Amy O'Meara of Amnesty International USA. "Dow must ensure that Union Carbide appear before the Bhopal Court. Victims have the right to be heard in court, and multinational companies shouldn't be able to skip town or hide behind subsidiaries or mergers. This case tragically demonstrates that transnational companies need to be better regulated to eliminate corporate complicity in human rights abuses."
Amnesty International is also part of a group of Dow Chemical shareholders that has been seeking fuller disclosure of risks and liabilities associated with Bhopal. In 2004, shareholders filed a resolution, led by Boston Common Asset Management, requiring the management of Dow to prepare a report describing new initiatives instituted by the management to address the specific health, environmental and social concerns of Bhopal survivors. The resolution was supported by large pension funds like the City of New York and CalPERS, labor unions and foundations. This year, Amnesty joins these shareholders again to express outrage over a recent SEC decision allowing Dow to strike a similar resolution from this year's ballot. Amnesty International offices around the world have sent letters to the top shareholders of Dow Chemical, including 100 top investors in the US including Fidelity, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch, alerting them to this lack of disclosure and asking them to demand information from Dow about the liabilities associated with Bhopal.
On May 12, a representative of Amnesty International will attend the Dow Chemical shareholder meeting in Midland, Michigan, to draw attention to the human rights abuses that continue to occur in Bhopal as a result of the explosion and to address the company's CEO, Andrew Liveris. Thomas Benner, an Amnesty member from Carmel, Indiana, will present a copy of the court summons to Liveris, and ask for justice for the victims.
Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) is the world's largest chemicals manufacturer, with 2004 revenues exceeding $40 billion.
More information, including the Amnesty International report "Clouds of Injustice", is available at http://www.amnestyusa.org/business/bhopal_action.html.
Contact:
Amy O'Meara, Amnesty International (212-633-4288)
Ryan Bodanyi, Students for Bhopal (401-829-6192)
Lauren Compere, Boston Common Asset Management (617-720-5557)
Posted by bhola at 07:59 PM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2005
Students at 60 Schools Vow to Fight Dow
Today students and organizations from more than 60 colleges, high schools and universities worldwide released a Student Declaration to Dow, vowing to press their schools to divest and refuse donations from the company until it resolves its legal and moral responsibilities for the Bhopal Disaster. The Declaration, coordinated by Students for Bhopal (www.studentsforbhopal.org) and released in advance of the Dow Shareholder Meeting next week, signifies the largest student movement facing Dow since the end of the Vietnam War.
On December 3rd, 1984, thousands of people in Bhopal, India, were gassed to death after a catastrophic chemical leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant. More than 150,000 people were left severely disabled—of whom 20,000 have since died of their injuries—in a disaster now widely acknowledged as the world’s worst-ever industrial disaster. None of the six safety systems at the plant were functional, and Union Carbide’s own documents prove the company cut corners on safety and maintenance in order to save money. Today, twenty years after the Bhopal disaster, those who survived the gas remain sick, and the chemicals that Union Carbide left behind in Bhopal have poisoned the water supply and contributed to an epidemic of cancers, birth defects, and other afflictions. With its purchase of Union Carbide in 2001, Dow assumed Carbide’s environmental and criminal liabilities.
“We are outraged,” the students write. “We believe the fact that Dow-Carbide has not acted to stop the ongoing contamination of tens of thousands—for which it is responsible—is inhumane, unjust, and immoral.”
In signing the Declaration to Dow, students and organizations committed to:
• Educating our fellow students and our communities about the Bhopal disaster and Dow-Carbide’s unresolved responsibilities.
• Organizing within our schools to demand, as during the Vietnam War, that our institutions of learning are not tainted by Dow’s legacy of death.
• Demanding that our institutions do not invest in a company that maintains its profit margins by avoiding the toxic legacies it’s created around the world.
“You can expect to be surprised by students and supporters of the Bhopal campaign so long as you continue to evade your responsibility in Bhopal,” the Declaration states. “You can expect protests, direct actions, and embarrassment in the media. You can expect students across the world to demand that their institutions of learning sever ties with your company, as they did during the Vietnam War. You can expect this student movement to grow until you fulfill all the demands of the survivors of your disaster.”
The Declaration follows a resolution passed in March by the student assembly at the University of California, Berkeley, calling for divestment from Dow. Similar resolutions have been passed at the University of Michigan and Wheaton College, but Berkeley’s is the first to call explicitly for divestment.
The complete text of the declaration and the list of schools that have signed on is available at www.studentsforbhopal.org/studentdeclaration.htm. The Berkeley resolution text is available online at www.studentsforbhopal.org/BerkeleyResolution.doc. More information can be found at www.studentsforbhopal.org.
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Posted by Shevardnadze at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)