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March 31, 2006
Noose of clean-up liability around Dow draws tighter; good start, say Bhopalis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 31 March, 2006
The Ministry of Chemicals has assured Bhopal survivors that they will explore legal options to implead Dow Chemical’s Indian subsidiaries to enforce the company’s liability for clean-up in Bhopal. In a meeting with six Bhopal activists, including four who had walked 800 km from Bhopal to Delhi, on 29 March, 2006, the Secretary to the Ministry of Chemicals Ms. Satwant Reddy said: “We have had communications with Dow. They say that ‘if we clean up in Bhopal, that will set a precedent for us to clean up in other countries where they have taken over smaller chemical companies.’”
The Ministry of Chemicals is the nodal ministry for issues emanating from the Bhopal disaster. Last year, the Ministry submitted an application in the Madhya Pradesh High Court asking Dow Chemical to deposit Rs. 100 crores for clean-up. The High Court is currently hearing a public interest litigation regarding clean-up of the Bhopal site. Exploring options, Ms. Reddy said: “What if we asked Dow to clean up on humanitarian grounds instead of pursuing them legally?”
Dismissing humanitarian gestures as a non-starter, the Minister of Chemicals Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, who separately met the Bhopal delegation on 29 March, assured the Bhopalis that he would explore legal options to implead Dow Chemical’s Indian businesses to enforce the company to pay for clean-up.
Coming as it does less than two months before Dow’s Annual Shareholder Meeting in Midland, Michigan, the information revealed by the Ministry strengthens the resolution floated by Dow shareholders concerned about the fate of their stocks in light of unresolved issues, particularly toxic waste clean-up, in Bhopal. The New York State Common Retirement Fund and the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund have jointly filed a resolution asking Dow to report on initiatives it plans to take to deal with the environmental health issues in Bhopal. At the 2006 AGM, Dow will field a total of four resolutions challenging it on various aspects of environment, health and human rights.
In addition to paying for the clean-up, Bhopalis are demanding that Dow Chemical should meet the recurring costs of running a national commission on Bhopal to address long-term medical and economic rehabilitation, pay for the Bhopal memorial and water supply, and suspend business in India until they produce Union Carbide to face trial. Dow Chemical has two subsidiaries and several joint ventures in India, and is looking to considerably expand its petrochemical business in the country.
On 25 March, 2006, 39 victims of Union Carbide’s poisoning, including several who are affected by drinking groundwater contaminated with Carbide’s poisons, reached New Delhi after a 33 day walk “for justice and a life with dignity.” They have declared that they will remain in Delhi until the Prime Minister meets them and addresses all their demands. Padayatra – as such marches with a mission are called – are usually undertaken as a form of protest by aggrieved people to insist upon the truth. The refusal of Dow Chemical and the Government of India to address the long-standing demands of the Bhopalis has forced at least 12 of them to announce an indefinite fast starting 3 April, 2006, until their demands are met. “Truth is on our side when we say that we have been aggrieved and that Union Carbide and its new owner Dow Chemical are responsible for our plight. We don’t see the Dow CEO or the Indian Prime Minister going on an indefinite hunger strike to underscore their claims that the Bhopal issue is long-resolved,” said Syed M. Irfan, an activist-survivor who has proposed to go on the hunger strike.
Irfan and at least four other Bhopal victims have been diagnosed as medically unfit to undertake a fast of this nature. “The Prime Minister will not meet us even after we have walked 800 km to Delhi. He doesn’t care if we live or die. But we will prevail even if it means a few of us have to undertake an indefinite fast,” said Rachna Dhingra, a key Bhopal-based supporter who will also be participating in the indefinite strike.
The Padayatra and proposed hunger strike have already evoked widespread consternation among supporters of the Bhopal campaign worldwide. More than 1600 faxes have already been sent to the Prime Minister’s office urging him to meet the survivors and address their demands. Three US cities, including San Francisco, Seattle and Boston have passed resolutions in support of the Bhopal demands. Twenty US Congresspersons, led by Congressman Frank Pallone, have written a strongly worded letter to the Indian Prime Minister requesting him to take action against the US multinationals.
“The conduct of American corporations outside the US is a long-standing concern of ours, especially with regard to environmental protection standards. . .It is outrageous that the CEOs of Union Carbide and its successor, Dow Chemical, have yet to be brought to justice. . .It is disappointing that the Indian Government has been reticent (sic) to pursue Union Carbide and Dow Chemical for their civil and criminal liabilities in the country,” the letter states.
For more information, contact: Nityanand Jayaraman: 9811138987 or 09444082401. Or Pragya Vats: 9868424692. Email: nity68@vsnl.com
Visit: www.bhopal.net/march and www.studentsforbhopal.org
Issued by:
Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
93031 32959
Syed M Irfan,
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
93290 26319
Shahid Noor
Bhopal ki Aawaaz
98261 82226
Satinath Sarangi, Rachna Dhingra,
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
98261 67369
Posted by bhola at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)
March 30, 2006
Chemicals ministry supports Bhopalis’ demands
PRESS UPDATE 30 March, 2006
A delegation of Bhopal survivors and supporters that met the Secretary and Minister at Ministry of Chemicals in two separate meetings yesterday described both meetings as “positive.” The Ministry, which holds overall responsibility of the well-being of the Bhopal survivors, had reviewed the six demands placed by the Bhopalis and noted action points, clarifications and action taken on each of the demands.
1. Clean Water: Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers, said Ms. Satwant Reddy, Secretary, will visit Bhopal on April 19 to meet the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary and the Secretary (Planning) to discuss the status of the pipeline project and the obstacles standing in the way of its implementation. He also said that the Madhya Pradesh Government’s application for funds to the Planning Commission would be reviewed, and resubmitted with a recommendation from the Ministry.
2. Clean Up: Ms. Reddy said that they have already submitted an application in the MP High Court asking Dow Chemicals to deposit Rs 100 crores for the Clean up of the contaminated site. She mentioned that Dow Chemical had met the Ministry a “while back.” According to the Secretary, Dow Chemical is reluctant to clean up the Bhopal contamination only because it would set a bad precedent, and would make it vulnerable to liabilities in other parts of the world. Ms. Reddy’s other suggestions indicate that Dow may be willing to do something about it. This is the first admission of responsibility by Dow Chemical ever since it took over Union Carbide in February 2001. Ms. Reddy also suggested that she could explore to see if Dow would be willing to do something on a humanitarian basis, if not on through legal means.
During the evening meeting with Mr. Paswan, the Minister, indicated scepticism of human intervention, and said that the Ministry will explore legal means, including by impleading Dow Chemical’s Indian subsidiaries and businesses.
3. Criminal Liability: The Ministry said that the Ministry of External Affairs had already written to the Central Bureau of Investigation directing the agency to revise and reissue the request for extradition of Warren Anderson.
4. National Commission on Bhopal: The Ministry wholeheartedly agreed with the need for an empowered coordinate body with long-term financial security to coordinate the implementation of medical and economic rehabilitation programs. The Minister said that the Ministry would support this demand by recommending the constitution of such a body urgently to the Prime Minister.
5. Curbing Dow’s business in India, and banning its toxic pesticide Dursban: The Ministry indicated that Dow’s investments in India are the subject matter of the Department of Industrial Promotion, and Department of Commerce, and that the matter should be taken up with them. On the matter of Dursban, the Ministry has requested a detailed submission that they can forward to the Ministry of Agriculture and follow up with other relevant authorities.
6. Remembering Bhopal: The Ministry said it had already written to the Ministry of Human Resources Development recommending that Bhopal be included in the educational curricula of schools and colleges. He also said that the Secretary would take up the matter of the Bhopal memorial with the Madhya Pradesh Government when it meets them on April 18.
Despite an assurance by the Prime Minister’s Office of a meeting with the Bhopal marchers before 31 March, no such appointment has been granted till date. If they fail to get a meeting with the PM by 31 March, at least 10 Bhopalis plan to launch an indefinite hunger strike to underline their resolve to get the six demands met.
Rashida Bee/Champa Devi, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh • Syed M. Irfan, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha • Shahid Noor, Bhopal Ki Aawaaz • Satinath Sarangi/Rachna Dhingra: Bhopal Group for Inforamtion and Action
C/o A1/125, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110 029
For more information, contact:
Nity: 0944482401 or Rachna: 09826167369 or Madhu: 9811138987
Posted by bhola at 02:54 PM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2006
Bhopalis move dharna to Jantar Mantar after positive response from Ministry of Chemicals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW DELHI, 29 March, 2006
Four Bhopali women – who are victims of Union Carbide - were injured, including two that lost consciousness, when the police forcibly evicted more than 200 survivors who had taken over the pavement outside the Ministry of Chemicals, in the high-security area outside Sastri Bhavan in New Delhi.
Ashraaf Bee, 60, collapses after being kicked in the chest by police
All four women – Ashraaf Bee (75), Bano Bee (55), Munni Bee (35) and Nafisa Bee (35) – are victims of Union Carbide's poisons, and had walked 800 km to New Delhi from Bhopal. Ashraaf Bee and Bano Bee were kicked in the stomach and stamped on, and had to be x-rayed at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. They were discharged at around 9 p.m. after a harrowing experience in the Hospital where the casualty ward doctors abused them, accused them of lying about their injuries, and threatened to cut open their stomach. Read the story here.
The police refused to press charges against the 300 or so Bhopalis who were detained in the Parliament Street Police station.
"The Government seems very efficient in apprehending people who are protesting peacefully for just causes. They don't have the courage or the political will to take on the real criminals like the US multinational Union Carbide or its owner Dow Chemical," said Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action.
In a meeting with the Secretary, Ministry of Chemicals, the Ministry agreed with most demands and promised to send necessary recommendations supporting the demands to the Prime Minister.
"The ball is squarely in the lap of the Prime Minister, who will have to choose between Dow Chemical and the people of Bhopal," said Shahid Noor survivor-activist who leads an organisation of youth orphaned by the Bhopal Gas Disaster.
A Bhopal delegation is set to meet the Minister of Chemicals, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, at 5 p.m. However, the Bhopalis have yet to receive a confirmation of the meetings with the PM and Sonia Gandhi.
In a significant development, 20 members of the US Congress, led by Congressman Frank Pallone, have written to the Prime Minister urging him to address the Bhopalis' demands and take action against the errant US multinational.
"The conduct of American corporations outside the US is a long-standing concern of ours, especially with regard to environmental protection standards... It is outrageous that the CEOs of Union Carbide and its successor, Dow Chemical, have yet to be brought to justice... It is disappointing that the Indian Government has been reticent (sic) to pursue Union Carbide and Dow Chemical for their civil and criminal liabilities in the country," the letter states.
The Bhopal survivors have decided to carry on their indefinite dharna at Jantar Mantar until the meeting with the Prime Minister. In the absence of a positive response from the Government, about 12 survivors have decided to go on an indefinite hunger strike.
Survivors' demands relate to provision of clean water, environmental remediation at the polluters' cost, setting up of a national commission to provide medical and economic rehabilitation, stopping Union Carbide and Dow Chemical's businesses in India until justice is done, and memorialising the disaster by including the Bhopal story in educational curricula and by building a memorial in Bhopal after considering the sensitivities and ideas of survivors.
For more information, contact: Nityanand Jayaraman. Cell: 9811138987 or Pragya Vats: 9868424692
Visit: http://www.bhopal.net/march/ or www.studentsforbhopal.org
Posted by bhola at 03:22 PM | Comments (0)
March 28, 2006
Bhopal Survivors Jailed in New Delhi: Protestors Harmed: Over 200 Bhopal survivors arrested: 35 children under 12 taken into police custody
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
US Contact: Aquene Freechild, 617-378-2579
Diana Ruiz, 415-999-9074
In India: Pragya Vats – 41652451 / 41652452 / 9868424692
New Delhi, 28 March 2006: Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Chemical Disaster which killed over 15,000 people, were arrested while peacefully protesting in New Delhi. A group of survivors marched 800 kms from Bhopal to New Delhi, and were joined by 600 more survivors and supporters upon reaching New Delhi. The group is demanding the Prime Minister and Central Government meet their demands including a request for clean water and clean up of the contaminated factory site. They occupied the pavement outside the Ministry of Chemicals in New Delhi today amidst intense police security. The police resorted to use of force upon women and children, without any provocation from the protestors. Two women, Bano 55 and Ashraf 75, fell unconscious after the police violence.
Many of the survivor groups leaders have been detained and will appear in court tomorrow. They have vowed to go on hunger strike while in jail.
"Our Prime Minister does not care for the Indian people. He prefers kowtowing to American corporations rather than redress the long standing demands of the survivors of the world’s worst industrial disaster," said Syed Irfan, a survivor and activist for justice in Bhopal.
The Ministry of Chemicals houses the Bhopal Cell, convenes the group of ministers on Bhopal, and holds overall responsibility of addressing all issues emanating from the 1984 Gas Disaster. 22 years after the disaster, more than 20,000 people are currently forced to consume hand pump water contaminated with mercury, cadmium, benzene, and other cancer causing chemicals, that have leached out of the thousands of tonnes of toxic waste that still lie exposed to the environment in and around the Union Carbide factory site. Despite the fact that Union Carbide is a criminal absconder in the eyes of the Indian Gov’t., the Prime Minister has been meeting with Carbide owner Dow Chemical’s CEO and has initiated steps to facilitate the company’s business expansion in India.
"The Prime Minister is ultimately responsible for the welfare of the Union Carbide’s victims in Bhopal, his refusal to address their demands, exposes his insensitivity to the plight of the poor," said Shahid Noor an activist - survivor who heads an organization of youth who were orphaned by the disaster. “This time we will not accept empty promises. We are resolved to go on an indefinite hunger strike till all our demands are met,” he said.
The Bhopal survivors are demanding clean water, environmental remediation at the cost of the polluter, setting up of a National Commission to oversee medical and economic rehabilitation, blacklisting Dow’s business in India and setting up a memorial in Bhopal.
More than 20 members of the United States Congress have written to the Indian Prime Minister urging him to address the demands of Bhopal Survivors and take action against the errant American multinationals Union Carbide and Dow Chemical. The Parliamentary Committee on Public Grievances last week summoned the Indian Govt. to explain why the Bhopal disaster remains an unresolved issue.
Ashraaf 60, was knocked unconscious by police.
Aquene Freechild
Program Associate
Environmental Health Fund
617-524-6018
Cell: 617-378-2579
21 Years is Enough! March to Delhi for Justice and a Life with Dignity
Send a FREE FAX to the Prime Minister of India here:
http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/FaxAction/fax_action.php
Posted by bhola at 09:51 PM | Comments (0)
Bhopalis who made 800km journey to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh instead find themselves flung in jail
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FROM THE ICJB IN PRISON IN DELHI
New Delhi 28 March 2006: Frustrated by the Prime Minster’s reluctance to grant an appointment to Bhopal Gas Survivors who have marched 800 kms from Bhopal to New Delhi, more than 400 victims of American multinational Union Carbides poison have occupied the pavement outside the Ministry of Chemicals in New Delhi today amidst intense police security. The police resorted to use of force upon women and children, without concern whatsoever in order to move them out of the Shashtri Bhawan premises withouit any provocation from the protestors. Two women, Bano Bee 55 and Ashraf Bee 75, fell unconcsious after the police violence. (Four women are in hospital, see our March to Delhi blog for the latest news and updates.)
"Our Prime Minister does not care for the Indian people. He prefers kowtowing to American corporations rather than redress the long standing demands of the survivors of the world’s worst industrial disaster", said Syed Irfan, a survivor and activist for justice in Bhopal.
The Ministry of Chemicals houses the Bhopal Cell and convenes the group of ministers on Bhopal and holds overall responsibility of addressing all issues emanating from the 1984 gas disaster. More than 20,000 people are currently forced to consume hand pump water contaminated with mercury and other cancer causing chemicals that have leached out of the thousands of tonnes of toxic waste that still lie exposed to the environment in and around the Union Carbide factory site. Despite the fact that Union Carbide is a criminal absconder in the eyes of the Indian Govt., the Prime Minister has been meeting with Carbide’s owner Dow Chemical’ CEO and has initiated steps to facilitate the company’s business expansion in India.
"The Prime Minister is ultimately responsible for the welfare of the Union Carbide’s victims in Bhopal, his refusal to address the demands exposes his insensitivity to the plight of the poor", said Shahid Noor an activist - survivor who heads an organisation of youth who were orphaned by the disaster. "This time we will not accept empty promises. We are resolved to go on an indefinite hunger strike till all our demands are met", he said.
Irfan and Shahid were speaking from jail via cell phones.
The Bhopal survivors are demanding clean water, environmental remediation at the cost of the polluter, setting up of a National Commission to oversee medical and economic rehabilitation, blacklisting Dow’s business in India and setting up a memorial in Bhopal.
More than 20 members of the United States Congress have written to the Indian Prime Minister urging him to address the demands of Bhopal Survivors and take action against the errant American multinationals Union Carbide and Dow Chemicals. The Parliamentary Committee on Public Grievances has last week summoned the Indian Govt. to explain why the Bhopal disaster remains an unresolved issue.
For more information contact Nityanand Jayaraman in jail:
+91 9811138987 or Pragya Vats 41652451 or 41652452 or +91 9868424692
Posted by bhola at 01:38 PM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2006
Bhopal survivors launch indefinite dharna demonstration at Parliament Street
NEW DELHI, 26 March, 2006 -- More than 600 people took out a rally to the Parliament Street in New Delhi concluding an 800km march from Bhopal to New Delhi by 39 Bhopalis, demanding justice and a life of dignity for people poisoned by American multinational Union Carbide. Starting today, the Bhopalis will be on dharna (demonstration) until their demands are met.
The Bhopalis were joined by representatives from a pollution-impacted community in Daurala, silicosis victims from among quarry workers in Lalkuan, cycle rickshaw drivers association, workers from Wazirpur, students from Delhi University and JNU, Narmada Bachao Andolan activists, and trade unions and NGOs.
Despite more than a month’s notice to the Prime Minister’s Office, the Bhopalis have yet to receive an appointment to meet Mr. Manmohan Singh. The PMO and Sonia Gandhi’s offices have assured them of an appointment between 27 and 31 March.
"It is unfortunate that the Government treats our life and death issues so casually. We are tired of repeating the same demands for 21 years and returning with empty promises from successive prime ministers. This time, we will not return to Bhopal with mere promises; we will leave Delhi only after all our six demands are fulfilled," said Goldman award winner and survivor-activist Champa Devi Shukla.
Champa Devi was part of a 100-women delegation that marched from Bhopal to Delhi in June 1989 to meet then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. They returned with promises that remain unfulfilled to date.
Bhopal is the site of a second ongoing disaster. More than 20,000 people are being forced to drink water contaminated by chemicals leaking from the abandoned Union Carbide factory - a May 2004 Supreme Court order directing the Madhya Pradesh Government to provide clean water has to date been ignored. In 2001, a scientific study found high levels of toxic contaminants, including mercury, in mother’s milk in the water-affected communities. Large numbers of children in these communities are born with birth defects.
The 800-km march and subsequent sit-in in New Delhi is prompted by a growing closeness between the Government of India and Union Carbide’s owner Dow Chemical. Also, as summer approaches, the water-affected communities are particularly concerned about the drinking water situation. "It doesn't take much to provide us drinking water. Every day, we hear about mega industrial investments. How is it that they find water for industries when they can't find any for the country's poor?” asks an irate Shameem Ahmad, a resident of Atal Ayub Nagar, where scientists found extremely high levels of trichlorobenzene and mercury in the water from community handpumps.
Survivors are also agitated that the Prime Minister has personally directed the Planning Commission to take steps to facilitate investments by Dow Chemical in India. Incidentally, the Prime Minister has met the CEO of Dow Chemical twice, including in March 2006, when the latter visited India as part of a 10-member CEO delegation that accompanied US President George Bush.
Posted by bhola at 08:16 AM | Comments (0)
March 20, 2006
US activists in DC to meet with Chief of Mission, Indian Embassy: support demands of Bhopal marchers arriving in New Delhi after 35 days of marching, 22 years of suffering
For Immediate Release Thursday, March 23rd, 2006
CONTACT:
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal
US:
Diana Ruiz 415-999-9074 (PT-Cell)
Carolyn Oppenheim, 413-584-9645,
Aquene Freechild, 617–378–2579 (ET) (@ Rally)
Sekhar Jammalamadaka (301) 717-1059 (@ Rally)
India:
Nishant Jain, + 91 9811764745
Advocates for survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Chemical Disaster are demanding a ban on expansion of Dow Chemical businesses in India, and are rallying in Washington DC from 12-2pm rally on Friday, March 24th at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC. In a meeting scheduled with the Indian Embassy’s Chief of Mission, they will deliver their request: that the Indian Prime Minister, in New Delhi, meet with a delegation of over 60 Bhopal survivors arriving Monday - at the end of their 500-mile, month-long march from Bhopal to New Delhi.
At issue are six demands of the marchers. Indian and American supporters want the Indian government to ban any permits for new business in India for the US-based Dow Chemical until the company faces charges of culpable homicide for the Bhopal disaster. An estimated 8,000 people died almost overnight on December 3rd, 1984 when a toxic gas leak swept from the plant into the city.
Johannes Manjrekar of Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, one of the organizers of the rally, said: "Dow Chemical, current owner of the Union Carbide plant that perpetrated the disaster, is still responsible for this tragedy, yet the Indian government is actively encouraging Dow to build new plants in India, increasing the odds that calamity strikes again."
Nirveek Bhattacharjee of Association for India’s Development, a national organization and another of the rally’s sponsors, added: "The Indian Central Government has failed to prevent the horrific poisoning of 20,000 people from contaminated water from the abandoned plant, or assist actively in the manslaughter case against Dow."
Students for Bhopal, a national organization with more than 60 campus chapters, is another sponsor.
In a letter of support released today from Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) with 20 signatures from congressional colleagues, Pallone wrote: "It is unacceptable to allow an American company the opportunity to exploit international borders and legal jurisdictions so that they can evade civil and criminal liability for environmental pollution and abuses committed overseas."
National and state labor unions representing Dow Chemical workers also support the Bhopal Survivors, including the International and Paper, Allied-Industrial, Chemical and Energy Worker's Union, representing 300,000 workers, who unanimously passed a resolution calling for an "International Day of Action Against Corporate Crime" in support of Bhopal trade union workers and inviting its US union members to take action supporting the demands of the International Campaign for Justice against Dow Chemical Corporation (ICJB).
Pressure from the survivors has already blocked a deal between Indian Oil and Dow. Survivors seek to stop Dow from aggressively marketing in India its neurotoxic pesticide Dursban, now banned for home use in the US after the severe poisoning of several children. The survivors are also demanding clean water and medical care from the Indian Government after 21 years of death and pollution caused by Dow Chemical’s current subsidiary Union Carbide. Complete demands are below.
Of the half million survivors, 10-15 still die monthly from the disaster’s effects and the poisoned water ~ 22,000 have died in total. Union Carbide abandoned the site and paid a meagre settlement averaging $300-500 per person. Carbide has been declared a "fugitive from justice" by Indian Courts; the company’s current owner Dow Chemical refuses to face the charges.
Demands of the Bhopal-Delhi marchers:
1. Set up a National Commission on Bhopal (health care, research)
2. Provide Safe Drinking Water (where Bhopal groundwater is contaminated)
3. Prosecute Union Carbide/Dow and former Carbide CEO Warren Anderson
4. Make Dow clean up and pay (for the clean-up of toxic contamination)
5. Blacklist Dow and Union Carbide in India (stop sale of Dursban and halt any new plants)
6. Declare a National Day of Mourning for Victims of Industrial Disasters on the Bhopal Anniversary 12/3
ATTENTION JOURNALISTS: For visuals: a 7-foot replica of the Bhopal Memorial, a sculpture of an Indian woman holding a dead baby fleeing the gas, will be on display at the rally. The sculpture, which stands at the front of the abandoned Carbide plant in Bhopal, was designed by a Dutch Holocaust survivor, Ruth Waterman, who lives today in the Netherlands. A photo of the statue is on the ICJB website.
To arrange interviews with Bhopal marchers contact Madhumita Dutta or Nishant Jain and for US based support groups contact Diana Ruiz. Video footage of the march available upon request.
Posted by bhola at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2006
Witnesses from India and the Philippines to attend the People's Inquiry
MARCH 14th 2006 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
With one week to go before the People's Inquiry into the aerial spraying of pesticides gets underway in Waitakere City, the Steering Committee confirmed that five overseas guests would be attending the six day hearings.
Hana Blackmore has collected hundreds of files since the spraying started. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey
The Convenor, Hana Blackmore, said today that the attendance of delegations from India and the Philippines as part of a community exchange programme initiative of Pesticide Action Network Asia & the Pacific (PANAP) was a great honour.
"They will be here to support the people of Waitakere, Auckland and North Shore Cities during the hearings. Their presence will provide a unique opportunity to witness and share each others stories, as they have also experienced the unfortunate effects of misguided aerial spraying".
Dr Meriel Watts, Co-Convenor of PANAP’s Pesticide Taskforce and Co-ordinator of PAN Aotearoa New Zealand, said that the Inquiry Steering Committee was arranging a special lunchtime session on Friday 24th March, in the Council Chamber, for the people from India and the Philippines to share their experiences.
Painted Apple Moth (male), target of chemical attack
"They will be able to share with us their experiences of the effects of aerial spraying of pesticides over their villages, and also the steps taken by their communities to deal with the situation".
Dr Watts said the Indian delegation will reveal what has happened to their health, their children and their animals as a result of many years of aerial spraying of the insecticide endosulfan on nearby cashew nut plantations. In the Philippines, ongoing aerial spraying of a number of pesticides on banana plantations has resulted in environmental devastation and chronic health effects.
The Convenor, Hana Blackmore, said she hoped that as many people as possible would attend the special session. Members of the public are welcome.
West Aucklanders finally have their say about spraying
15.10.05
By Catherine Masters
It's harmless, MAF said. Don't worry about it, said the Government. The more they said it, the more people in West Auckland did worry.
The spray which rained down from the low-flying aircraft covering them and their homes stank of cat pee and left a residue on their cars and windows.
Some people began to notice bloody noses, headaches and nausea. Others reported worse complaints: burning rashes, uncontrollable asthma, bad diarrhoea.
As the spraying stretched on for more than two years, some wondered if this mix of secret chemicals brewed to wipe out a little Australian moth with a big appetite for New Zealand trees could be linked with stillbirths in the area, or miscarriages, or cleft palates, or whether they might be a factor in motor neurone disease cases.
MAF and the Government were consistent. The spray was safe, they repeated. But the people were offended and angry at the inference that their health problems were all in their heads.
Now, just as MAF is surely hoping the pesky painted apple moth has been sprayed into oblivion, and with it the controversy and anger, the people are rising up.
Requests for select committee hearings and a public inquiry fell on deaf ears but next month the council chambers at Waitakere City will be thrown open to a commission of inquiry organised by the people, not bureaucrats.
"The people" in the People's Inquiry come from West Auckland, East Auckland and Hamilton, say the inquiry organisers, the PAM [Painted Apple Moth] Community Network, which comprises various lobby and support groups.
The network says the inquiry will tell the stories of hundreds of people as it looks at the impact of the painted apple moth spray campaign in West Auckland, the earlier white painted tussock moth spray campaign in east Auckland in 1996 and 1997 and the 2003 campaign in Hamilton to eradicate the Asian gypsy moth.
The spray - Foray 48B - contained a bacteria known as Btk and was used in all the campaigns.
Five commissioners at the inquiry who are experts in their fields will hear the evidence.
Some are New Zealanders but two are coming from overseas. One of them, Dr Romy Quijano from the University of the Philippines, is a pesticide activist who was sued in the Philippines for exposing a village whose people and land he said were dying because of the aerial spraying of a nearby banana plantation.
Waitakere City Council is providing its council chambers free.
Councillor Penny Hulse sees the inquiry as a bit like the truth and reconciliation commission in South Africa, where the people were able to stand up and express their pain and anger. Hulse is behind people in West Auckland getting their own chance to explain what the spray campaign meant to them because there "absolutely" were health impacts.
Talk to MAF on the telephone about this People's Inquiry and you can hear the gritted teeth. MAF has not been invited. Eradication programmes manager Ian Gear does not believe its attendance would add any value to the process.
He says MAF heeded expert advice throughout the campaigns, commissioned studies and knows a lot now about Btk-based sprays and their health impacts.
Health assessments indicated a small number of people with pre-existing conditions might be affected and overseas research has shown there might be mild, short-term problems, such as skin and eye irritations.
"All subsequent studies of reported health impacts tell us the same thing - that the effects of the spray in Auckland were as expected."
Gear said there was much public support for the eradication programmes, citing a survey where 79 per cent of people agreed with MAF's biosecurity actions in general.
MAF also pointed the Weekend Herald to a report by Auckland University psychologists in the journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. Based on a survey of West Auckland residents, it found that worries about aspects of modern life affecting health could strongly influence the attribution of symptoms and beliefs about health effects after environmental incidents.
In other words, MAF is hinting again that health concerns may be in people's heads.
Organiser Hana Blackmore says the network is not saying everyone in West Auckland suffered but it is warning against trying to invalidate, yet again, the many who did suffer and still are.
People who say they were sick from the spray have a lingering bitterness that can quickly escalate to anger. It was just last year that the spraying finally stopped.
Ordinary folk turned into unlikely activists. They set up lobby groups, went on protest marches for the first time, wrote reports and gathered stories of stress, illness and desperation.
Asthmatic Sally Lewis began a support group called Gasp, which ended up with 260 members.
Lewis knows when she says things such as "the spray ruined my life" that some people will sigh and think "get over it", or write her off as a hypochondriac. But she says the spray campaign destroyed her relationship and ruined her health. She has moved out of her Kelston home because of her health.
During the spraying, MAF would put her up in motels or she would sleep in a tent at a caravan park to try to avoid it. But when she went home it was still there.
A mild asthmatic before the spray, Lewis says since the campaign finished she has been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - "my lungs have been burned out by the chemical spray".
All in her mind? What rubbish, says the 59-year-old whose house was sprayed more than 50 times. She remembers the first time the spray was dropped. She thought she was going to die.
Like others, she was curious and had gone out on to the porch to watch. "Within 20 minutes I was just about keeled over. I had this horrific rash on every part of my body that was exposed."
When she called the health consultants Aer'aqua, the medical service appointed by MAF, she was told to have a shower and wash it off. But you can't wash off chemical burns, says Lewis.
Sue-Ella Gray says she, too, became ill after the first spraying. After about three months, MAF moved her out during sprayings but the spray was inside the house and when she went home she became ill.
She was eventually moved by MAF to Whangaparaoa. She, too, will not return to West Auckland.
Gray was diagnosed before the spraying with multi-chemical sensitivity and says the health services and MAF knew this. "Because I have multichemical sensitivity when I am subjected to chemicals I get what they call fully blown ME. It affects the digestive system, the respiratory system, the muscular-skeletal system, the whole nervous system.
"I become very sick, [with] chronic fatigue and chronic pain."
She has a lot of information she plans to expose at the inquiry but the most important aspect she hopes will come out is that the law surrounding the use of chemicals in public areas needs to be readdressed urgently.
Human rights were over-ridden when poisons were dropped on people, she says. "I have been through a lot and I'm trying to get my life together now. You know, for 3 1/2, four years, every day was just like a living nightmare.
"I would like to see Aer'aqua and MAF held accountable for their horrific behaviour and attitude towards me."
Others not badly affected physically are also angry. Alan Samuels, 54, of Glendene, cannot fathom how a Government can spray citizens against their will.
He can talk about what happened but he, like others, says some in West Auckland are so burned out and emotionally upset that they cannot.
Samuels was initially not concerned when a small area in Glendene was sprayed. When he read in a newspaper that all of West Auckland was to be sprayed he thought, "Hang on, that means I'm going to get sprayed". He saw red. He is not sure how many times he was sprayed, but it was "way too many times".
Even when it was not overhead, the spray would drift, and there was always that nasty cat-pee smell.
He became so desperate he emailed Erin Brockovich, the American woman made famous in the Julia Roberts' movie of the same name for her discovery of a link between pollution of water supplies by a gas company and sickness in residents.
She said she could not help. What does Samuels want from the People's Inquiry? He wants this Government and subsequent governments to "wake up to the fact that you just can't spray people with chemicals".
Over in East Auckland, Hana Blackmore's house is in a perpetual state of renovation. The new kitchen and carpets have come second to moths for years, she says.
Blackmore is a driving force behind the People's Inquiry, a tireless bustle of 61-year-old, English-accented energy who sits on her couch, puts her feet up and talks solidly for three hours.
"I can't drop it. I can't drop it because of all the people who still ring me, all the people who can't get over it. In fact, all the people who won't even be there at the inquiry because they're so emotionally damaged by it that they can't bear to bring it all up again."
Earlier, she waved at a bookcase of files. There are 2.5 sq m of files on the three spray campaigns against the three different moths which have been deemed a threat to New Zealand's environment and economy.
Blackmore's house in Kohimarama was in the hot zone for the white spotted tussock moth, which was sprayed in 1996 and 1997. When it was declared wiped out, along came the painted apple moth and the telephone started ringing again.
Both campaigns were similar. There were delays in getting started, then people were told the spray was safe, then the accounts of illness started and were not believed or taken seriously. It was the same for the Hamilton Asian Gypsy Moth campaign, she says.
One of the nasty aspects was the emotional blackmail. "The Government turned against the people along the lines of 'how dare you put the economics and future of the country at risk'."
When Kohimarama was sprayed it was scary to be in your home, she says. The plane would roar down and the spray would splatter the windows. Blackmore developed a corneal ulcer after being splashed in the eye.
"I can't prove it was the spray that caused the corneal ulcer. Now, I've learned that even if I produced the contact lens and it came up Btk on the lens, they'd still say there's no proof that it's not the spray that caused it."
Blackmore really got involved when her daughter, Hassanah, became ill. The then 26-year-old had a bad headache, passed out at work and was semi-paralysed.
Eventually, she was referred to hospital where she had every kind of test, including a lumbar puncture.
Everything was negative and there was no proof it was the spray. What clinched it for Blackmore was a conversation with a friend who lived in Glendowie, outside the spray zone.
Her friend's daughter had the same symptoms as Hassanah and was sent for the same tests. It also turned out that even though they lived outside the spray zone the girl had been sprayed repeatedly at the bus stop on her way to school.
Blackmore speaks of rumours in West Auckland of a cluster of motor neurone disease cases. The Motor Neurone Disease Association, however, says there is not.
"It's pretty straight forward," says national executive officer Sue Leader. "There's no statistical cluster in Auckland for cases."
She says the spray has no known link to the disease. But there is no known cause for motor neurone disease anyway and no definite link to anything triggering it.
They cannot rule it out - but "we can't rule out anything in the entire world. It could be water, or television-watching or reading the newspaper. That's as strong as I can be. The really hard bit is that people are looking for answers because it's such a devastating disease and at the moment we don't have any".
Blackmore still wonders whether they have ever looked for a link with the spray. "The answer is no. They have never sprayed a community anywhere in the world [with Foray 48B] in the same way they have with this one."
It is all so difficult to prove. Another controversial study last year, carried out by the Wellington School of Medicine for the Ministry of Health, raised concerns about fine bioaerosol particles in the spray which could be inhaled deep into the lungs and had the potential to cause health problems.
The report was quickly challenged by the Government as flawed. But West Auckland doctors wish they had a little more information.
Lannes Johnson, medical director for the West Auckland Public Health Organisation Healthwest, says the small amount of work carried out overseas did not satisfy him the spray could be absolutely safe.
"Scientifically, we know there are some strange auto-immune type reactions that people have to certain bugs so we can't discount anything."
He draws the line, though, at claims West Aucklanders were used as guinea pigs. "I think the people of West Auckland were exposed to it because the moth was over here."
The people, though, might disagree.
Posted by bhola at 02:20 AM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2006
Tamilnadu groups rally for Bhopal survivors
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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CHENNAI, 16 March, 2006
Human rights, environmental and youth groups from Tamilnadu took out a rally in support of survivors of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal who are on an 800-km padayatra on foot to New Delhi demanding justice and a life of dignity. Representatives from pollution-impacted communities in Mettur, Cuddalore and Gummidipoondi also participated in the Chennai rally from Monroe Statue to Chepauk Guest House. A delegation of supporters from Tamilnadu will join them on the last stretch of their padayatra.
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"Bhopal is of relevance to all us us. More than anything else, Bhopal exposes that the Government does not protect the poor. If the victims of the world’s worst industrial disaster have to walk 800 km to Delhi 22 years after the disaster to get their most basic demands met, what chance do we have to see our demands met for clean water, clean environment, medical assistance and compensation?"
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On 10 March, members of Chennai-based youth collective “We Feel Responsible” met the Tamilnadu Governor and handed over a petition addressed to the Prime Minister with signatures collected in support of the demands of the Bhopalis. The most urgent demand in the 6- point charter of demands of the Bhopalis is the supply of piped water from Kolar reservoir in the 16 communities affected by toxic contamination of ground water. Despite a May 2004 order of the Supreme Court, the Madhya Pradesh Government has failed to provide water, and nearly 20,000 people continue to drink water containing cancer-causing chemicals.
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The Bhopalis are currently in Agra and are expected to reach New Delhi by 25 March, 2006. They have sought a meeting with the Prime Minister. Depending on the response of the Central Government, the Bhopalis will decide to go on an indefinite fast at the end of their 800 kilometer long march. The four organizations : Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Bhopal Group for Information and Action and Bhopal ki Aawaaz will present their charter of demands to the Prime Minister.
Tamilnadu supporters of the Bhopal padayatra have echoed Bhopalis’ demand that the Government should set up a National Commission on Bhopal, with participation of survivor organisations, to provide facilities for health care, economic rehabilitation, medical research and social support. Other demands relate to the setting up of a special cell within the CBI to expedite prosecution of Union Carbide Corporation and its former chairman Warren Anderson, assessment and clean up of toxic wastes, and a ban on the Government’s purchase of Dow Chemical’s products, including the toxic pesticide Dursban. The survivors have also demanded that December 3 be declared a National Day of Mourning for victims of industrial disasters and include the disaster in educational curricula.
Supporting Organisations:
Human Rights - Tamilnadu Initiative
Penn Thozhilalar Sangam (Women Workers Association)
Corporate Accountability Desk
Tamilnadu Dalit Women’s Movement
Alliance for People’s Movement
Tamilnadu Women’s Forum
We Feel Responsible – A Youth Initiative
Pond’s HLL Ex-employees Association
Consumer Action Group
Tamilnadu Meenavar Munnetra Sangam
South Indian Fishermen Welfare Association
Fisher Movements Coordination of Tamilnadu & Pondicherry
Manali Youth Welfare Association
Annai Sarada Devi Trust
West Konur Farmers Welfare Association
Tamilnadu Women’s Collective
Veeranganai Women’s Organisation
Tamilnadu Green Movement
Tamilnadu Environment Council
AID-India (Chennai)
For more information, contact:
Nityanand Jayaraman. 9444082401. Email: nity68@vsnl.com
C/o International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal
H19/4 Gangai Street, Kalakshetra Colony, Chennai 600 090
Visit: www.bhopal.net and http://www.studentsforbhopal.org/MarchToDelhi.htm
Posted by bhola at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
March 02, 2006
Bush’s India trip touches nerve on US business human rights record
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2006
BUSH BURNED IN EFFIGY IN BHOPAL
SURVIVORS MARCH ON DELHI
PROTEST DOW EXPANSION IN INDIA
While some in the Indian business community hope for expanded trade from the Bush visit, “another India” is protesting expanded US business until past human rights violations are resolved. Anti-Bush events lampoon the American President around the country and Bush was burned in effigy in one state capital - Bhopal. Anger about practices of US corporations including Coca Cola and Dow Chemical Company are feeding the fire.
Bhopal marchers burn effifies of Bush and Cheney im Guna
Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Chemical Disaster are a week into a month-long March to New Delhi, to demand the Indian government stop US-based Dow Chemical’s expansion in India until it faces charges of culpable homicide for the disaster. Already pressure from the survivors blocked a deal between Indian Oil and Dow. Survivors want Dow to stop aggressively marketing its neurotoxic pesticide Dursban in India, which is banned for home use in the US after the severe poisoning of several children. The survivors are also demanding clean water and medical care from the Indian Government after 21 years of death and pollution caused by Dow Chemical’s current subsidiary Union Carbide.
The Bush administration thwarted efforts to extradite former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson to India to face trial. Freedom of Information documents indicate possible collusion between lawyers for Union Carbide and the US State Dept. The Survivors meanwhile march on, having gained support from 18 members of Congress headed by Rep. Frank Pallone in the past few years, along with city councils in Seattle and San Francisco. Civil cases for clean up of the contaminated plant site are pending in US and Indian Courts.
A Bhopal doctor has painted Bush's portrait in blood
As Bush visits with students in Hyderabad, other Indian students will be supporting the Bhopal March. Coca Cola’s poisoning of rural water supplies, as well as high pesticide levels in its product, has generated campus boycotts of Coke in the US and India. These actions serve as a warning for business expansion in India that does not take in basic human rights in its calculations.
An Amnesty International report that used Bhopal as a case study, calls for International Human Rights Norms for Business. US-controlled Union Carbide built a poorly designed pesticide plant that poisoned local water - killing animals, driving reporters to warn of catastrophe, and causing workers to quit in droves in the 1980s. An estimated 8,000 people died almost overnight on December 3rd, 1984 when a toxic gas leak swept from the plant into the city. Today over 100,000 people are permanently disabled. Of a half million survivors, 10-15 still die monthly from the disaster’s effects and the poisoned water, ~22,000 have died in total. Union Carbide abandoned the site and paid a meagre settlement averaging ~$300-500 per person. Carbide has been declared a “fugitive from justice” by Indian Courts; the company’s current owner Dow Chemical refuses to face the charges.
Some Indians fear repeating with the US, the history of corporate colonialism that began with the East India Company consuming India for the British Empire. The rush of US investment, profiting from India’s cheap, skilled labor has often resulted in pollution, worker death and in the most tragic case, the Bhopal Chemical Disaster of 1984.
ATTENTION JOURNALISTS:
To arrange interviews with Bhopal marchers contact Madhumita Dutta or Nishant Jain and for US based support groups contact Diana Ruiz.
Video footage of the march available upon request.
Contacts:
US:
Diana Ruiz 415-999-9074 (PT-Cell)
Carolyn Oppenheim, 413-584-9642 (ET)
India:
Madhumita Dutta, + 91 (11) 26105472/
41652451-52 (office), mdutta@vsnl.net
Nishant Jain, + 91 (11) 9811764745
For media reports of the Indian protests against Bush's visit, please also see http://www.bhopal.net/bhopalinthenews/
Posted by bhola at 10:54 AM | Comments (0)