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April 26, 2006
Chemicals ministry to submit Bhopal report to PMO: Bhopalis satisfied with progress on demands
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR JUSTICE IN BHOPAL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
26 April, 2006. New Delhi
The Ministry of Chemicals will submit a detailed report to the PMO by April 26 on the setting up of a National Coordinating Committee on Bhopal. The Committee, which will include survivors’ representatives, will coordinate long-term medical and economic rehabilitation efforts, the construction of a memorial to the disaster, and oversee the provision of clean drinking water for the 16 communities whose water is contaminated with Carbide’s poisons. A team led by Mrs. Satwant Reddy (Secretary, Ministry of Chemicals) and comprising Mr. Yashvir Singh (Director, Bhopal Gas Cell, Ministry of Chemicals) and Mr. K.C. Misra (Jt. Secretary, Min of Chemicals) visited Bhopal on 18-19 April, 2006, following up on their assurance to Bhopal victims who had walked to Delhi from Bhopal to protest against the long-pending issues of survival facing the victims. The delegation met gas victims, residents of water contamination affected areas and representatives of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal ki Awaaz, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha and Bhopal ki Awaaz on 18 April in Bhopal. The delegation also separately met members of the Indian Council for Medical Research and the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Government to discuss the modalities of the Coordinating Committee on water, and medical and economic rehabilitation. They have requested survivors organisations to submit a proposal for economic rehabilitation, and identify groups of potential beneficiaries for rehabilitation. The Committee is expected to be up and running in three months time.
“We are very happy at the speed at which the Ministry of Chemicals is moving ahead on these issues of life and death for the victims of Union Carbide. We hope that they will influence the Madhya Pradesh Government to begin supplying water immediately through tankers to all 16 affected communities in line with the May 2004 Supreme Court order because the summer is already upon us,” said Champa Devi Shukla of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh. Champa Devi is both a gas victim and a resident of water-contamination affected area.
Bhopal activists have clarified that only water from Kolar dam would be acceptable to them. The MP Government has already sunk borewells alongside a sewage channel in Raslakhedi, and has constructed water storage sumps, including on land that is part of Carbide’s toxic waste dump. “Raslakhedi water is already contaminated in several places, and is in the direction of the pollution plume from the factory. The Government wants to kill us, one way or the other,” says Shehazadi Bee, a resident of Blue Moon Colony, and one of six people who sat on a fast for justice in Bhopal earlier this month. According to local reports, the BJP Government in the State plans to use Rs. 2 crores to supply cleaner Kolar dam water to Ayodhya Nagari, a developing residential area with a predominantly middle-class Hindu population.
They have also said that work on the memorial should not begin until the site and its surroundings are cleaned up at the cost of the polluter.
On 17 April, the Prime Minister had met Bhopal victims and activists and assured them of action on clean water, clean-up of toxic wastes, and setting up of a coordinating committee on medical and economic rehabilitation. The PM also said the Government would explore legal options to enforce the “polluter pays” principle. Separately, the Ministry of Chemicals has assured survivors that they will make a case for participation of survivors in the design and running of the Bhopal memorial. Bhopal activists called off their indefinite fast on 17 April, the 7th day of the fast, based on the assurances from the Government.
For more information, contact: Madhumita Dutta (New Delhi): 9968015475. Satinath Sarangi (Bhopal): 0755 2730914
Posted by bhola at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)
April 19, 2006
Solidarity with victims of the tragic Bhopal incident
Four decades after the end of the toxic chemical warfare waged by the US forces in Vietnam (1961-1971), the impact of its destruction still remains disastrous in the southern part of this country, particularly in the “hot spots”.
In order to win their battles, these forces managed to pour eighty millions litres of toxic chemicals so called defoliants, over millions of acres of land. These defoliants, especially Agent orange highly contaminated with a deadly residue called dioxin. The effects of Agent Orange/Dioxin have until today caused the death and disability of millions of Vietnamese victims. Many Vietnamese children of the second and third generations were, are and will be born with birth defects.
Though with full knowledge of their dangers certainly imposed on human beings and environments, these defoliants were still produced and supplied by various American chemical companies for the sake of enormous profits. For these reasons, not only veterans of the U.S, the Republic of Korea, Australia and New Zealand, but also Vietnamese victims have lodged claims against them in the U.S Courts for justice.
Now, in addition to its liability for the Vietnam War’s victims, Dow Chemical, is even responsible for the Bhopal disaster against the Indian local people. As victims of this chemical manufacturer and being denied by this company and others to enjoy correct compensations and justice, we, Vietnamese completely feel it necessary to show our solidarity with and support for the struggle conducted by the people of Bhopal.
We so urge that the Government of India would back their just cause. We call upon all the activists for human rights, for justice and for peace to make their tragedy and their sufferings known to the world, and to demand that justice should be affirmed.
On behalf of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin
Tran Xuan Thu.
Vice-President, Secretary General.
Posted by bhola at 02:29 PM | Comments (0)
April 18, 2006
Solidarité avec les victimes de Dow Chemical à Bhopal
Pendant dix ans, de 1961 à 1971, le Vietnam a subi des épandages de défoliants destinés à détruire la forêt et les rizières pour en chasser les combattants et les populations qui les soutenaient. Quatre-vingt millions de litres de produits toxiques, dont le tristement célèbre Agent orange, ont été déversés sur 10% du territoire du sud du Vietnam. Ces défoliants contenaient de la dioxine, le poison le plus dévastateur qui soit, qui a fait plus de trois millions de victimes et dont les effets persistent encore aujourd’hui. Des enfants, de la 3ème génération naissent tous les jours, gravement handicapés. Ces défoliants ont été fabriqués par des industriels chimiques américaines qui en connaissaient la nocivité, auxquelles ils ont rapporté d’immenses profits et contre lesquelles les victimes vietnamiennes et leur association, la VAVA, ont porté plainte.
Or, parmi les principales entreprises en cause, on trouve Dow Chemical, la même entreprise qui est responsable du tragique accident de Bhopal (1984) dont elle se refuse toujours à indemniser correctement les victimes. Les victimes de Bhopal réclament justice, comme les victimes vietnamiennes. Après 800 kilomètres de marche de Bhopal à Delhi les victimes indiennes demandent à leur Premier Ministre d’intervenir et ont commencé une grève de la faim (www.bhopal.net). A son refus, une quinzaine de victimes ont entamé une grève illimitée de la faim. Après 21 ans de souffrance, de maladies omniprésentes, de pollution, et de morts, ils portent six revendications
1. La création d’une commission nationale sur l’explosion de Bhopal
2. Un ravitaillement en eau potable pour ceux qui vivent dans la zone contaminée
3. La poursuite en justice contre Union Carbide et son PDG Waren Anderson
4. Le nettoyage du site par ces pollueurs
5. La cessation par le gouvernement indien de donner carte blanche à Dow Chemical et Union Carbide pour leurs nouveaux projets
6. Un monument à la mémoire des victimes de Bhopal
Nous sommes solidaires de la lutte des Bhopalis et soutenons leurs revendications légitimes.
Nous appelons le gouvernement de l’Inde à appuyer leur juste demande. Nous appelons aussi tous les partisans du droit humanitaire, de l’équité et de la paix à faire connaître leur drame et leurs souffrances et à exiger que justice leur soit rendue.
Le comité du Village de Van Canh, Enfant du monde Droit de l’Homme, Union Générale de Vietnamien de France,Union des Jeunes Vietnamien de France, membres du Collectif Vietnam-Dioxine (www.vietnam-dioxine.org)
Posted by bhola at 07:35 PM | Comments (0)
US supporters of the Bhopal campaign call off demonstrations as Bhopal survivors end indefinite hunger fast
April 18, 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Indian Prime Minister agrees to provide clean drinking water, and clean-up of toxic waste in Bhopal.
American supporters of the Bhopal hunger strike claim victory along with Bhopal hunger strikers as the Indian Government conceded to survivor demands for clean drinking water, clean-up of toxic waste, establishing national commission for medical and economic rehabilitation, and declaring December 3rd a National Day of mourning for the victims of the 1984 chemical disaster.
In support of Bhopal survivors concerned Americans and non-resident Indians from 17 cities across the US (Washington DC, New York, Boston, Austin, Houston, Philadelphia, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Atlanta, Tempe, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Princeton, Ann Arbor and Chicago) called off demonstrations and vigils. They have been contacting the Indian Embassy and Consulates in the US, calling and e-mailing, since February 20th, urging the Indian government to address the issues raised by the Bhopalis. Over 400 international supporters pledged to fast for at least a day in solidarity with the Bhopal hunger strikers and bombarded the Prime Ministers office in Delhi with over 2600 faxes.
The hunger strike followed a month-long 500-mile march from Bhopal to New Delhi. Champa Devi Shukla, a Bhopal survivor who lost her husband in the disaster and a winner of the 2004 prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize and a hunger striker said, “Dow should beware now because all our energies will be focused on putting the brakes on Dow’s business in India."
After their meeting with the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Bhopal survivors called off further scheduled plans for hunger strikes, when the Prime Minister conceded to four of the six long standing demands of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB) on April 17, 2006. Three Bhopal activists will leave immediately for Bhopal to accompany a high-level team led by Secretary, Ministry of Chemicals, to finalize details regarding provision of safe water and the participation of survivors in the construction of a memorial in Bhopal.
"It's a momentous victory for the indefatigable spirit of the Bhopalis. This campaign showed that the world is watching and the governments cannot flee from taking responsibility of its own citizens. It is a pity that it required a long march, hunger strike and the intervention of the Prime Minister to achieve what the government should have legitimately provided long ago. It shows that we have further challenges ahead," said Kirankumar Vissa, Director of the Association for India's Development (AID, an organization of Indians living in the US with 40 chapters, a member of ICJB.
“This triumph was a result of the determined struggle of the Bhopalis, which was bolstered by an internationally coordinated campaign to bring justice in Bhopal,” added Ryan Bodanyi, Coordinator of Students for Bhopal, an ICJB member.
The Prime Minister refused to grant the demand to prosecute Union Carbide Corporation (UCC)/Dow Chemical and former Carbide CEO Warren Anderson. Additionally he did not agree to a ban on further business with UCC/Dow Chemical.
Bhopal survivors quoted the Prime Minister as telling them he was powerless to hold UCC or its owner Dow Chemical accountable. The Prime Minister told them that he would not promise to prosecute because India has to do business despite these tragedies. He told them he would explore whatever options existed within the law to hold the UCC/Dow Chemical accountable.
"Encouraging as is the break through of the Bhopali survivors with key demands involving environmental clean up, economic rehabilitation, and adequate medical care there remains the dilemma of what to do about a rogue corporation, named Dow Chemical, which has refused to recognize its continuing liability for this 21 year old catastrophe," said Ward Morehouse author of the Bhopal Reader and Bhopal Tragedy.
CONTACT: Nirveek Bhattacharjee, 410-627-7679 nirveek@bme.jhu.edu
Nityanand Jayaraman, +91 9868474437, nity68@gmail.com
Posted by bhola at 04:01 AM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2006
PM concedes to four of six Bhopal demands; says he's powerless against Dow
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal ki Awaaz
17 April, 2006.
New Delhi -- Bhopalis today celebrated a major victory and called off their international hunger strike as the Government conceded to four of six long-standing demands of the Bhopal campaign. The Prime Minister assured a 10-member delegation consisting of Union Carbide's victims and supporters who met him today for 30 minutes that the demands relating to clean water, clean-up of toxic wastes, and the setting up of a national commission for medical and economic rehabilitation will be met. The Bhopalis will end their dharna today on a note of solidarity with the Narmada struggle. Separately, the Madhya Pradesh Government announced the allotment of Rs. 100 crores for the construction of a memorial in Bhopal, and Bhopalis have been told that the story of the Bhopal disaster will be included in educational curricula developed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Three Bhopal activists will leave immediately for Bhopal to accompany a high-level team led by Secretary, Ministry of Chemicals, to finalise details regarding provision of safe water and the participation of survivors in the construction of a memorial in Bhopal.
The Prime Minister, however, said he was powerless to take any extra-legal measures to hold Union Carbide or its owner Dow Chemical accountable. "I don't promise to prosecute. We have to do business. India has to survive despite these tragedies," Mr. Manmohan Singh said in response to a demand by survivors that Union Carbide and Dow Chemical should be held liable for the continuing disaster in Bhopal. Mr. Singh, however, said he would explore whatever options existed within the law to hold the company accountable.
"We are ashamed and outraged that the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy has openly admitted to his inability to pressure an American multinational. At a time when India is set to more than double its industrial capacity, the Prime Minister's reluctance to take extra-legal measures to pressure multinational corporations is deplorable and should set the alarm bells ringing," said Satinath Sarangi, one of the six hunger strikers and 39 people who walked from Bhopal to New Delhi. "It doesn"t make any sense to direct our protests on the matter of corporate accountability towards a man who has expressed his powerlessness on this matter."
The Bhopal campaigners have, therefore, resolved to take direct and legal action against Dow and Union Carbide's businesses nationally and internationally over the coming months. "Dow should beware now because all our energies will be focused on putting the brakes on Dow's business in India," said Champa Devi Shukla, Goldman award winner and one of the indefinite hunger strikers.
Josh Imeson and Diane Wilson, both of whom have been fasting in solidarity with the survivors, have also been requested to call off their fast by the Bhopalis. Diane Wilson, a long-time Bhopal supporter, is on the fourth day of her indefinite fast in the United States. International support for the campaign has brought tremendous pressure to bear on the Government. The Prime Minister"s office has received nearly 3,000 faxes and more than 400 people have signed up to fast for a day or longer in solidarity with the Bhopal campaign.
Thirty-nine victims of Union Carbide's poisons, and eight survivors covered 800 km in 33 days to arrive in New Delhi on 25 March, 2006. Since 29 March, 2006, Bhopal survivors and supporters had been on indefinite strike near the Parliament House in New Delhi. On 11 April, six people, including three victims and three supporters, began an indefinite fast, in which they were joined by Diane Wilson from the US starting 13 April.
For more information, contact: Nityanand Jayaraman. Cell: 9868474437. Rachna Dhingra. Cell: 09826167369. Email: nity68@gmail.com
Visit: www.bhopal.net
Posted by bhola at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)
Safe water: Bhopal protestors taste first victory
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Bhopal ki Awaaz
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
16 April, 2006. New Delhi
Bhopalis and their supporters, who are currently demonstrating in Jantar Mantar and the six people who are on their 6 th day of indefinite hunger strike, today celebrated their first victory after hearing news that the Madhya Pradesh Government announced Rs. 17 crores to provide safe water to communities currently drinking groundwater laced with poisons from Union Carbide's toxic wastes. The announcement that was made by Minister for Gas Relief Mr. Babulal Gaur was received with cautious optimism. "Mr. Gaur's announcement of allotting Rs. 17 crores for water from Kolar Dam is a positive development and a comfort to those of us on indefinite fast and those of us who walked 800 km. But we need to see concrete plans and a timeline that ensures that water is delivered before summer sets in," said Shehazadi Bee, a resident of Blue Moon Colony and one of the indefinite hunger strikers. Blue Moon Colony is one of the settlements where groundwater is highly poisonous.
On 29 March, after completing the march from Bhopal to Delhi, a Bhopal delegation had met the Minister of Chemicals, Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan, and Secretary to the Ministry, Ms. Satwant Reddy. Both assured the delegation that they will send a team led by the Secretary to Bhopal on 18-19 April. After discussions with representatives of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha, Bhopal ki Awaaz and Bhopal Group for Information and Action, the Secretary and Minister said that they would raise the matter of drinking water and memorial to the gas disaster with the Chief Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Government. The four organisations have said that it is imperative that execution of the Kolar water scheme is done with the participation of the residents from these contamination-affected areas, and that the Government should announce the name of an official who can be held accountable and provide a time line within which the project will be completed.
The four organisations have demanded that just as important as clean water is their demand for clean-up of the thousands of tons of buried and stored toxic wastes, and contaminated groundwater. They have said that the Government should not spend taxpayers' money to provide water or clean-up the environment, but explore and execute options to hold the polluter – Union Carbide and its new owner Dow Chemical – responsible. They are urging the Government to initiate legal action against Dow Chemical's subsidiaries in India to recover the expenses for addressing the Bhopal pollution and its fallouts.
On the 6th day of their fast, the Bhopal hunger strikers were joined today by six representatives of All India Federation of Trade Unions who fasted a day in solidarity with the Bhopalis. Eleven representatives from pollution-impacted communities in Cuddalore and Kodaikanal in Tamilnadu also arrived today in New Delhi to show their support to the Bhopalis.
The Bhopal activists are in New Delhi to demand clean water, clean up of contamination at the cost of the polluter, criminal action against the companies and individuals accused of causing the disaster, a ban on Union Carbide's products, processes and technologies in India, the setting up of a national commission to execute medical and economic rehabilitation schemes, and the construction of a memorial with survivors' participation.
For more information, contact: Nityanand Jayaraman – 9868474437
Email: nity68@vsnl.com. Website: www.bhopal.net
Posted by bhola at 08:42 AM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2006
Nationally known fisherwoman Diane Wilson begins hunger strike to support victims of the Union Carbide/Dow chemical disaster in Bhopal
In Bhopal tens of thousands have died and hundreds remain ill from the effects of the chemical contamination.
Diane will be in the West Mall area of The University of Texas at Austin campus from 8AM till 6PM, daily. Supporters of the Association for India’s Development (AID) a student group with 40 national chapters in the United States will also join Diane. This week in New Delhi, India six hunger strikers, including three Bhopal victims of the 1984 UCC/Dow Chemical disaster and three supporters, began an indefinite fast resolved to end it only when the Indian Government addresses their long-standing charter of six demands (see below for demands). Bhopal survivors are garnering support world wide from students and social justice groups to support them in their efforts to hold multinational UCC/Dow.
Wilson is author of Unreasonable Woman, which details her 25 years of protesting environmental pollution from UCC to Dow Chemical corporations in Seadrift, Texas and Bhopal, India. Diane Wilson learned about Dow as she fished for shrimp in the Gulf of Texas, near the Seadrift Dow plant and other chemical plants such as Formosa Plastics. An EPA release inventory list showed that her county of Calhoun, Texas was number one in the nation for toxic disposal. Diane realized that the struggle for a healthy environment in Bhopal was the same as her own.
In February 2006 she completed 120 days in a Texas jail for hanging a "Justice for Bhopal" banner in 2002 off a tower at Dow Chemical's plant in Seadrift, Texas. In 2002, Diane went on a 28-day fast along with Bhopal survivors and managed to mobilize more than 1000 people to fast in solidarity. The Government of India was forced to begin to accede to the Bhopal demands.
“I can’t rest until these corporations are held accountable for what they’re doing here in the United States, and for what they did in Bhopal.” Diane Wilson.
Diane Wilson will be joined by four AID volunteers that are also carrying out their pledge to fast in solidarity with Bhopal. “I fast in solidarity with the lost voices of Bhopal. Let this silent protest across the world reverberate the government into action!” said Santhosh Padmanabhan (Engineer in Austin).
"Governing the largest democracy in the world for 21 years, the Indian Government has demonstrated an atrocious miscarriage of democratic principles in its actions in Bhopal and reactions to the Bhopalis' struggles. I am appalled at the languid uncaring reaction of Dow and the Indian Government!” said Vinod Viswanath (Graduate Student, UT Austin). Both Santhosh and Vinod are on the first day of their two-day fast, second day overall.
The US support campaign, a project of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal-with many active chapters of Students for Bhopal (SFB) and AID include massive fax and email actions and vigils targeting the Indian embassies and government. Already more than 2200 faxes have been sent to the Indian Prime Minister.
Nearly over 300 hunger strikers have signed on via www.bhopal.net from India, UK, US, Singapore, Spain, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore and Canada. In India, solidarity protests targeting the unyielding UPA Government were held this week in Tamilnadu, Trivandrum, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and Vizag.
Bhopal victims launched an indefinite fast in New Delhi on Tuesday April 11th, 2006.
They seek a meeting with the Prime Minister.
The Bhopalis are demanding:
• Clean water to replace the water supply in Bhopal contaminated by the UCC/Dow pesticide plant, which has been essentially abandoned since 1984.
• Thorough clean up of contamination.
• Government-coordinating agency with power and finances to implement medical and economic rehabilitation programs.
• Special prosecution team to pursue the criminal case against UCC/Dow and CEO Warren Anderson among others,
• Memorializing the disaster by including the Bhopal story in the educational curricula of grade schools and universities.
In addition the Bhopal campaign has demanded that because UCC is an absconder in the eyes of Indian courts, Dow and UCC should be barred from introducing into India any processes, technologies or products developed by or owned by UCC.
For more details go to www.ICJB.org
###
ATTENTION JOURNALISTS: For additional information on US based support groups please contact Aquene Freechild (SFB) at 617 378.2579, aquene@gmail.com and Nirveek Bhattacharjee (AID) 410 627.7679, nirveek@bme.jhu.edu.
Posted by zinda at 04:13 AM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2006
Bhopal victims, supporters launch indefinite fast in US & New Delhi
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10 April, 2006. Austin: On Tuesday, April 11th six people, including three victims of the Union Carbide Disaster in Bhopal and three supporters, begin an indefinite fast resolving to end it only when the Government addresses their long-standing charter of six demands.
On April 13th, an American, Diane Wilson will join their indefinite fast at the West Mall, on the University of Texas-Austin Campus. Wilson plans to move her fast to the Indian Embassy in Washington DC after Earth Day if the Bhopalis demands are not heard.
Supporters in Austin, Boston, Seattle, Washington D.C. and Houston will hold candlelight vigils in solidarity with the Bhopal activists around 7:30pm* this evening. (Call for exact times)
All six fasters in New Delhi - Shehzadi Bee (49), Nafisa Bee (50), Guddi Bee (35), Satinath Sarangi (52), Satish Kumar (51) and Rachna Dhingra (28) - are part of a 46-person team that walked almost 500 miles from Bhopal to New Delhi in 33 days to underscore their demands and give adequate notice to the Indian Government. Despite repeated requests, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has refused to meet the Bhopalis, stating that he has nothing to say to them. "The Government cannot ignore us. We have come here for justice, and we're not leaving without it," said Shehazadi Bee.
On April 13th, Texas fisherwoman-activist Diane Wilson will begin an indefinite hunger strike to mobilize relay hunger strikers in the US. Tuesday, April 11th Wilson will hold a candlelight vigil in front of the Dow Chemical Union Carbide plant in her hometown of Seadrift, Texas, a plant that has contributed to the destruction of Lavaca Bay and her livelihood. The US programs include massive fax and email actions and vigils targeting the Indian embassies and government. Already more than 2200 faxes have been sent to the Indian Prime Minister. Last month, Wilson completed 150 days in a Texas jail for hanging a Justice for Bhopal banner in 2002 off a tower at Dow Chemical's plant in Seadrift, Texas.
In 2002, Diane went on a 28-day fast along with Bhopal survivors and managed to mobilise more than 1000 people to fast in solidarity.
"The Bhopalis are starving themselves because their government has condemned them to a living death," said Ryan Bodanyi, Coordinator of Students for Bhopal, an international group supporting the survivors. "The fact that these people - many of them sickened already by Carbide's poisons - have to walk 500 miles and fast indefinitely for their human and legal rights is appalling. It's sad that the Prime Minister of India, a country with a long and proud history, is putting the basic needs of his people behind those of the company that poisoned and killed them."
Already, nearly a 100 hunger strikers have signed on via www.bhopal.net from India, UK, US, Singapore, Spain, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore and Canada. In India, solidarity protests targeting the unyielding UPA Government are being held in four places in Tamilnadu, in Trivandrum, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata and Vizag.
Two of the six hunger strikers - Shehzadi Bee and Nafisa Bee - are affected both by the gas and by contaminated drinking water in their neighbourhood outside of the abandoned Carbide Factory.
Guddi Bee is also exposed to contaminated water, but is not a gas victim.
Satinath Sarangi has resided in Bhopal since the day after the disaster, and is a founder-trustee of Sambhavna Trust Clinic which provides free treatment to 200 gas victims daily.
Rachna Dhingra also moved into Bhopal three years ago, after she completed her studies at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she helped set up a Bhopal support group and push through the first campus resolution on Bhopal in the US.
Satish Kumar, a resident of Trivandrum, is a filmmaker and activist who has been associated with the Bhopal campaign from the early days. He was involved in a health study five years after the disaster and published a report called Against All Odds. All six were part of the 46-person team that walked 800 km from Bhopal to Delhi in February-March 2006.
"We have waited 21 years during which we have been beaten up by the police, abused, accused of lying and exaggerating about our health effects. Now we have come not for our lives - that's already destroyed - but for the lives of our children," said Nafisa Bee, a grandmother of 10. Nafisa's eldest son suffers from chronic chest pain and stomach problems; one granddaughter has chronic headache, and one grandson suffers from frequent bouts of dizziness.
Stomach problems, headaches and joint pains among youth are common among those drinking contaminated water in Bhopal. The water is known to contain high levels of mercury, lead and cancer-causing chlorinated chemicals.
"Will the Prime Minister give his grandchildren poisoned water? Then why does he think that poor people are any different? He doesn't even have the grace to meet those who have walked 800 km to meet him," Nafisa says.
Contrary to his hostility towards the Bhopalis, Mr. Singh has had two luncheon meetings with the CEO of Union Carbide's new owner Dow Chemical, Mr. Andrew Liveris, and initiated steps within the Indian Federal Planning Commission to facilitate Dow's investments in India.
According to well-placed Government sources, the Government is reluctant to address any of the Bhopali's demands relating to holding Dow and Union Carbide responsible for fear of angering US corporations and the US Bush administration.
The Bhopal campaign has demanded that because Union Carbide is an absconder in the eyes of Indian criminal courts, Dow and Union Carbide should be barred from introducing into India any processes, technologies or products developed by or owned by Union Carbide.
The Bhopalis are also demanding clean water, clean up of contamination, a government coordinating agency with power and finances to implement medical and economic rehabilitation programs, setting up of a special prosecution cell to pursue the criminal case against Union Carbide and Warren Anderson among others, and memorialising the disaster by including the Bhopal story in the educational curricula of schools and colleges.
www.bhopal.net - www.icjb.org
Bios of Hunger Strikers (not featured above)
Nafisa Bee is a mother of 3 sons and 2 daughters, and grandmother of 10 children. She lives in Blue Moon Colony and is affected both by gas and contaminated water. She suffers from chronic chest pain, and burning eyes. Because of the water, she also has stomach problems. Her mother-in-law died due to respiratory problems caused by long-term effects of the gas. Her eldest son suffers from chest pain and all children have stomach problems. One granddaughter has chronic headaches, and one grandson suffers from frequent bouts of dizziness. Her husband is unable to work for a living. He has severe stomach problems, and had nasal bleeding for nearly three years.
Guddi Bee was not affected by the gas. But her troubles began when she moved into Blue Moon Colony about 12 years ago. She has two boys and one daughter. The oldest boy, Qadir (18), has chronic chest pain and burning sensation in the stomach. The youngest boy, Kallu, also has severe chest pain and is very weak. He cannot hold his food, and gets tired very easily, preventing him from being able to earn a livelihood. The daughter - Sai Been-also has chest pains and white discharge.
"The water stinks here. If you drink it, you throw up. If you eat anything after drinking the water, you'll throw up. We've been drinking this water for 12 years now," she says.
Shehzadi Bee (49) has three sons and three daughters. During the gas leak, there were six people in her family including herself. Everybody in her family has some ailment or the other. Her husband is a TB patient. One son has cancer. One daughter lost her sight because of the gas. All the grandchildren have boils all over the body and stomach problems, and all are physically retarded. They cannot study because they suffer from constant headaches. Shehzadi too is a resident of Blue Moon Colony.
CONTACT:
Nirveek Bhattacharjee, 410-627-7679 nirveek@bme.jhu.edu
Aquene Freechild, 617-378-2579, aquene@gmail.com
Nityanand Jayaraman, +91 9868474437, nity68@gmail.com
Posted by bhola at 06:01 PM | Comments (0)
500 Bhopalis join protest in New Delhi
PRESS RELEASE
Attn: Chief Reporter/Bureau Chief
10 April, 2006, New Delhi - For immediate release
Frustrated by the continued silence from South Block, more than 500 Bhopalis, including gas victims and those forced to consume water tainted by Carbide’s poisons, arrived in New Delhi today to support the impending indefinite hunger strike to be announced tomorrow. In a graphic and silent demonstration, the 500 victims took over Parliament Street in a die-in, where they lay on the ground, covered themselves with a shroud and played dead, while figures of death, George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh danced through the corpses.
“Our demonstration is a reflection of reality. Those of us who are gas affected or living in the water contamination areas are the living dead. More than 20,000 have died, and our Government’s apathy – in addition to Union Carbide’s poisons – is the reason for all these deaths,” said Shehazadi Bee, a 49 year old gas victim who is daily exposed to Carbide’s poisons from the tainted handpump water in Blue Moon Colony behind the infamous factory. Union Carbide and its new owner Dow Chemical have refused to clean up the thousands of tons of toxic wastes left behind in Bhopal, and the Government has refused to hold them accountable for fear of hindering American investments in India.
Thirty-five days of walking from Bhopal to Delhi, and 15 days of waiting in the pavement of Jantar Mantar under the hot sun has proven inadequate to move the Prime Minister. “He must have a heart of stone to force the poison-ravaged people of Bhopal to go on an indefinite hunger strike after all that they have been through,” said Rachna Dhingra, a long-standing Bhopal activist who undertook the 800 km walk to Delhi. Six Bhopal victims and their supporters will launch an indefinite global hunger strike targeting the Indian Government tomorrow.
A 2001 study published by the State Government’s Centre for Rehabilitation Studies attributes at least 350 deaths annually to gas-related ailments. More recent studies by the same institute find that prevalence of diseases among gas victims is 3 to 4 times higher than among unexposed population. Studies done by health volunteers from Sambhavna Trust Clinic – a free non-governmental clinic that treats 200 gas victims a day – also report highly abnormal patterns of morbidity among gas- and water contamination-affected populations. A survey of men and women in Atal Ayub Nagar, where drinking water has high levels of carcinogenic Trichlorobenzene, found 95 percent of women and all men to be anemic. The national figure for anemia among women is 58 percent. Incidentally, Trichlorobenzene – a chemical dumped in large quantities by Carbide – is known to cause anemia and leukaemia.
Similarly, a Sambhavna study among girls in Annu Nagar, a settlement of 1500 gas- and water-affected people, indicates that 50 percent of the girls had not attained puberty even at the age of 15. Average age at puberty in India is 13.
“Those of us who have been forced to drink poisoned water are pained to see the kinds of effects it is having on our children. Some are born with missing palates, cleft lips, large heads, missing fingers. 16-year old boys look like they are 8 or 9 years,” says Shehazadi. “If the Government tries to send us back to Bhopal without meeting our demands, they will be condemning us and our children to a slow, painful death. A hunger strike is nothing compared to knowingly poisoning yourself and your children daily,” she said.
Health volunteers working in the 16 water contamination-affected communities have identified at least 70 children with gross birth abnormalities. “This is just the tip of the iceberg. A detailed study will reveal the impact of Government inaction and corporate irresponsibility on the health of children in Bhopal,” said Satinath Sarangi of Bhopal Group for Information and Action. Sarangi is also founder-trustee of the Sambhavna Clinic.
The state of health care for Carbide’s victims in Bhopal is pathetic, a Supreme Court Monitoring Committee on health care in Bhopal reports. The report concludes that in the absence of a rational treatment protocol, of specialists and of diagnostic equipment, patients are being treated symptomatically, and are forced to come back to the hospitals for the same illnesses for several years.
The Bhopalis are demanding clean water, clean up of contamination, a coordinating agency with power and finances to implement medical and economic rehabilitation programs, curbing Dow Chemical from trading in Union Carbide products, processes and technologies in India, setting up of a special prosecution cell to pursue the criminal case against Union Carbide and Warren Anderson among others, and memorialising the disaster by including the Bhopal story in the educational curricula of schools and colleges.
For more information, contact: Nityanand Jayaraman -- +91 9868474437.
Email: nity68@vsnl.com. Website: www.bhopal.net and www.studentsforbhopal.org
Posted by bhola at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2006
Update from the Yes Men: Giant corporation, giant corporation's victims, both need cash now
April 11, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: help@theyesmen.org
Help: http://www.theyesmen.org/contactus/#donate
http://www.bhopal.net/delhi-march.html#actions
Here's an update on some recent Yes Men activities. But first, two appeals:
* In a few weeks, the Yes Men will speak at a major conference as one of the world's biggest, nastiest companies. We're planning something every bit as bizarre as the WTO's meter-long golden phallus - but we're a bit short on funds to pull it off. If you can help, please visit http://www.theyesmen.org/contactus/#donate or write to us.
* On a whole other level, survivors of the Bhopal catastrophe have just completed a march from Bhopal to Delhi to protest the Indian government's refusal to help force Dow to the table; now they're beginning a hunger strike. Please support them at
http://www.bhopal.net/delhi-march.html#actions or by donating to the Bhopal Medical Appeal (http://www.bhopal.org/donations/).
Now for the updates.
DOW PROMOTES "POST-CAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE"
Last November at a San Francisco nanotechnology conference, a "Dow representative" urged the scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs in the audience to hurry potentially dangerous nanotech products to market before they could be tested. Citing Dow's record profits despite a history of releasing dangerous and often lethal products, the representative asserted that caution is best deferred until after a product is released, and that testing ought to be performed not by the corporation but by the population at large, to give them the opportunity to participate in corporate progress. The audience, to their credit, found these ideas disturbing, but many admitted that
they had no control over how the products they were developing would be released. Meanwhile, in the exhibits hall, the Yes Men discovered that nanotech products known to be dangerous are available for sale to anyone with the money....
INDIAN HIJINKS
The pesticide Dursban was banned in the US in 2001; that very year, Dow opened a Dursban plant in Chiplun, India, and now manufactures and sells it in India. Last December, the Yes Men, posing as Dow managers, dropped in on the factory for an inspection. They had been told of the plant by Bhopal survivors, who are angry that Dow is able to launch new, harmful ventures in India even as they continue to get away with murder in Bhopal.
Also in December, the Yes Men visited the largest agricultural fair in India and learned how companies like Monsanto sell their expensive seeds to farmers, who are often ruined when the crop doesn't perform as well as expected; thousands of farmers have lately committed suicide by drinking the pesticide that comes with the seeds, and millions more have ended up in big-city slums. After speaking to Monsanto and other company representatives to learn their sales tricks, the Yes Men successfully sold seeds armed against "amoebas and houseflies" and demonstrated a pesticide that doesn't kill but simply lobotomizes the drinker, making him or her happier with
whatever happens.
OIL SOLVES GLOBAL WARMING
One week ago in Norway, one of the world's very richest countries, the Yes Men posed as investigative reporters at a journalism conference and revealed their "discovery" that Norway, far from being enviro-friendly as everyone believes, is probably the world's largest agent of climate change per capita. This is because (a) Norway is the world's third largest petroleum exporter, and (b) Norway invests the billions it makes from petroleum in a wide range of oil, automobile, airplane, shipping, and defense companies, via its massive "Petroleum
Fund." (While Norway's aid to Pakistan, investments in ecological measures, and support of the Nobel Peace Prize are much better known, they are much smaller than its aid to Shell, Chevron, Exxon, Halliburton, etc. via the Fund.)
The journalists were dumbfounded at the April Fools' talk. When the truth came out that the "investigators" were phony, many of the journalists did express surprise that the hypocrisy of a supposedly "green" country being so heavily invested in oil, pollution, and war had not received more attention.
Posted by bhola at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)
April 06, 2006
Open letter from Amnesty International to the Prime Minister of India
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Open Letter - Embargo Date: 6 April 2006 06:30 GMT
India: Bhopal survivors march 800km in search of justice
Ref. ASA/20/2006/13
Dr. Manmohan Singh
Honourable Prime Minister of India
South Block, Raisina Hill,
New Delhi,
India-110 011
Dear Prime Minister,
I am writing to convey the concerns of thousands of Amnesty International members and supporters around the world who have signed a petition urging the Indian Government to ensure the immediate supply of regular and sufficient piped drinking water to the communities in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, in compliance with the 2004 Indian Supreme Court order.
I also urge you to heed the request of the Bhopal survivors, many of whom have walked 800 km to New Delhi, for a meeting with you to address their demands.
In December 2004, Amnesty International published a report to mark the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster. As you know, in December 1984 a gas leak from a pesticide plant in Bhopal owned by Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), the Indian affiliate of the US-based multinational Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), killed more than 7,000 people and affected hundreds of thousands within days. In the past two decades, at least 15,000 more people have died and more than 100,000 suffer from chronic illness related to gas exposure. To date, no one has been held to account for the gas leak and its disastrous consequences that continue to affect people and the environment.
The contaminated plant site has not yet been cleaned up. As a result, toxic wastes continue to pollute the environment and contaminate water that the surrounding communities rely on. Despite an order from the Indian Supreme Court in May 2004 instructing the Madhya Pradesh government to supply clean drinking water, the state government has not yet fully complied with the order. More than a year ago, on 9-10 March 2005 the state government and Supreme Court officials agreed on important steps to supply all affected communities with sufficient drinking water, including the presentation of a plan for permanent supply of drinking water. Although these commitments were to be fulfilled within the next four weeks, to Amnesty International’s knowledge no steps have been taken and the Madhya Pradesh government has reportedly failed to date to act on the order of the Supreme Court. Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the lack of enforcement of the Supreme Court’s order and the consequent lack of regular and sufficient drinking water that leaves the Bhopal victims with no option but to continue drinking contaminated water.
Amnesty International is also concerned about reports of the detention on 28 March in New Delhi of 300 protestors who were peacefully demonstrating in front of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, many of whom were Bhopal victims who had walked for five weeks to present their demands. At least two of the victims have complained that they were assaulted by police and required hospitalization.
On behalf of Amnesty International, I appeal to you to:
* take immediate steps to ensure regular supply of adequate safe water for the domestic use of the affected communities in line with the order issued by the Supreme Court;
* ensure the immediate clean up of the factory site in order to contain further damage to the ground water and environment;
* ensure a prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation into the policing of the demonstrations described above, examine whether the use of force by police was consistent with national law and international standards, and ensure that anyone found responsible for excessive use of force be held accountable.
I understand the Bhopal survivors who have marched to New Delhi are seeking to meet with you. I hope you will agree to receive the Bhopal survivors and inform them of the steps that you intend to take to address their demands.
Yours sincerely,
Irene Khan
Secretary General
Cc. Madhya Pradesh Government
Posted by bhola at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)
Bhopalis condemn forcible eviction of Narmada hunger strikers
6 April, 2006. New Delhi - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Victims of Union Carbide from Bhopal, who are currently camped on the pavement across anti-dam protestors from the Narmada valley at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, condemned the heavy-handed police action against the Narmada activists, some of whom were on the 7th day of hunger strike. Six survivors and four Bhopal supporters will join the Narmada Bachao Andolan today and fast in solidarity with their call to stop construction at the Sardar Sarovar Dam, and for rehabilitation of those already displaced. “The struggles of Narmada and Bhopal are one. They like us are being punished for protesting against Government’s anti-people policies in furthering industrial development,” said Shehzadi Bee, a 49 year old survivor who has walked 800 kilometres from Bhopal to New Delhi. About 300 police marched in army-style, dragged and kicked people who tried to prevent the police from reaching the hunger strikers. Satheesh Kumar, a Bhopal activist from Kerala and one of those who will undertake the indefinite hunger strike for justice in Bhopal, was among the 25 or so that were removed to the police station. All activists were released by 2 a.m. today.
In a separate development, the Bhopal campaign received a major boost from US Congressman Frank Pallone and 10 other members of the US Congress who filed an amicus curiae brief supporting Bhopalis claims against Union Carbide Corporation in a lawsuit where Bhopal residents have demanded clean-up and compensation for damages to health and property.
In a public statement, Pallone, who is the founder-leader of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, said "The Bhopal victims have repeatedly tried their cases in the US court system, but were subjected to unfair treatment and corporate favouritism."
In 1999, survivors filed the class action lawsuit against Union Carbide and its officials in the Southern District Court of New York. The lawsuit was dismissed and later reinstated by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in November 2001 and dismissed again in March 2003 by the District Court. “The matter is currently on appeal, and the intervention by the US Congresspersons is likely to increase the chances of its success,” said Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action.
In yet another unrelated development, the Union Cabinet announced yesterday that it will release Rs. 50 crores towards compensation for survivors. “The Rs. 50 crores is the shortfall that the Government was supposed to make up, and is money that rightfully belongs to survivors. In any case, it is unrelated to the demands of the survivors and the timing of the release of this information can only be seen as a cheap PR ploy by the Government,” said Shehzadi Bee. In 1989, pursuant to the Supreme Court order on the settlement, the Government of India and Reserve Bank of India agreed that any fluctuation in the exchange rates would accrue to the amount of compensation held in the dollar account. The surplus compensation resulting from this agreement amounted to more than Rs. 1500 crores. The amount sanctioned by the Government of India yesterday is a shortfall in this amount, which was due to be paid by the Government.
Survivors of the Bhopal disaster are on indefinite strike at Jantar Mantar since they arrived in Delhi by foot from Bhopal. The Prime Minister has declined to meet the Bhopal delegation despite the fact that a meeting had been requested more than 45 days ago. Barring the Ministry of Chemicals, which was positive on all six demands of the survivors, the signals from the Government indicate that it is unwilling to hold the company accountable for fear of angering US investors and the Government.
Unlike the Bhopalis, Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris has had no trouble getting audiences with the Prime Minister, who met him for lunch on two occasions – on September 15, 2005 in New York, and on March 2, 2006 in New Delhi when Liveris had accompanied the Bush delegation. The Prime Minister has instructed the setting up of a special task force in the Planning Commission to facilitate investments in two petrochemical complexes in Vizag and Haldia by Dow Chemical and DuPont. Dow Chemical wholly owns Union Carbide Corporation, the company that was declared an absconder by the Bhopal court for failing to honour court summons to appear in court to face charges of “culpable homicide” in a matter related to the 1984 gas disaster. The leak has taken more than 20,000 lives till date, and more than 100,000 remain chronically ill.
The Bhopalis will launch an indefinite fast starting 11 April, 2006.
For more information, contact:
Nityanand Jayaraman – 9868474437. Rachna: 9911289845
Website: www.bhopal.net or www.studentsforbhopal.org
Email: nity68@gmail.com
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 08:09 AM | Comments (0)