Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
PRESS RELEASE
NEW DELHI, 28 JUNE, 2008 — Appealing to the Prime Minister to “Have a Heart and Do Justice in Bhopal,” a delegation of Bhopali children visited the Prime Minister’s residence today to deliver 300 paper hearts drawn and cut-out by Delhi children over the last week.
Meanwhile, the indefinite fast by 9 Bhopal activists has entered the 19th day. The supporters of the survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Gas Disaster held solidarity fasts in Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, Bhopal, Vadodara, New Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai. International supporters in Quezon City, Philippines, Edinburgh, Scotland, Zurich, Switzerland and five US cities – Atlanta, Portland, Austin, New York and Boston are organizing solidarity fasts in these cities.
Janata Dal ideologue Surendra Mohan, senior journalists Pamela Philipose and Neerja Chowdhury and at least 31 representatives from over 20 organizations took part in the solidarity fast in New Delhi at Jantar Mantar.
As part of the “Have a Heart” campaign launched internationally last week, Bhopal supporters world over are educating children about the PMO’s prolonged silence over the Bhopal demands despite a 38-day march, 90 day dharna and the advanced state of an indefinite fast by 9 Bhopalis.
A team of 8 Bhopali children have done the rounds of Delhi, visiting youth workshops, residential welfare associations, and slums telling children the story of Bhopal, and the Prime Minister’s refusal to address their demands. Many of the hearts made by Delhi’s children are stark in their messages to the PM. One student who visited the Bhopalis at Jantar Mantar wrote to the PM: “I am giving this heart because I think and have realized that you don’t have a heart. That’s why you did not feel the pain of the Bhopal gas tragedy victims. Please think about them, they are part of your country. At least think of yourself. You will also meet God one day and he will ask what you did? You will be left with no answers.”
“The Prime Minister should see that law is applied equally to everybody. On one hand Union Carbide and Dow Chemical who have killed, maimed, bribed and are absconding from our courts are still going scot free and on the other hand, Bhopalis are beaten up and jailed for a peaceful protest,” says 13-year old Aamir Khan, a second-generation gas victim who has spent his summer vacation in Jantar Mantar along with his parents and three siblings.
School children in Chennai too demonstrated today with hearts drawn by students from 7 schools. The hearts from Chennai will be mailed to the Prime Minister’s residence on Monday.
For more information, contact: Rachna Dhingra: 9717516003

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