Brutal Twist In Bhopal Tale: Is This Corporate Accountability? Asks Jagger

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        Subject:     Brutal Twist In Bhopal Tale: Is This Corporate Accountability? Asks Jagger
            Date:     Tue, 16 Jul 2002 16:28:08 -0400
           From:     Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To:     Paul Helliker <phelliker@cdpr.ca.gov>
          Director, State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation 

cc:    Christine Whitman whitman.christine@epa.gov

Press Release Embargo: 00:01, July 17th, 2002
Brutal twist in Bhopal tale: is this corporate accountability? asks Jagger

New Delhi, July 17th, 2002.  Today, in a landmark case, a judge in the Bhopal Judicial Magistrate’s court rules on the Indian government’s application to slash its own prosecution, applied eleven years ago against US officials of giant chemical corporation Union Carbide, from “culpable homicide” to “criminal negligence”. Meanwhile, the three hunger strikers from Bhopal, central India - scene of the 1984 Union Carbide gas disaster that has killed over 20,000 people to date - enter their nineteenth day without food still unsure whether their protest has succeeded in halting the government’s plans.

Legal experts assert that the government’s move is unprecedented. ‘The volte face that the application to dilute the charges would represent is contrary to the government's own stand, raising questions about complicity of the government’, said New Delhi-based lawyer Usha Ramanathan. ‘It is not within the experience of the law that an accused who absconds and evades the process of law and justice is rewarded by dilution of charges’.

International outrage at the Indian Government’s intended action has been growing: Gianfranco Bettin, pro-mayor of Venice and vice-president of the Italian Green Party is into the third day of his solidarity fast, and demonstrations have taken place in Washington DC, Cape Town and London, in Spain and France also in major Indian cities. ‘What happened in 1984 was an unspeakable tragedy, what has happened since is a travesty of justice, an abuse of fundamental human rights on a contemptuous scale’ commented environmental campaigner Bianca Jagger, who undertook humanitarian work in Bhopal in 1989. ‘What should we say when President Bush talks about corporate accountability and he specifically excludes Union Carbide and Dow Chemicals?’

At 4:00 pm on Tuesday July 16th at Aldwych, London, the UK Bhopal Justice campaign group handed in a 1000 name petition to the Indian High Commissioner Mr Sen: ‘a few of us collected the names in a single day on the streets of Brighton’, remarked writer Indra Sinha, ‘people are so angry they were queuing up to sign’. The group held up a series of picture boards which contrasted Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson with Osama Bin Laden: the former chairman has been responsible for the deaths of six times as many people, the posters claimed.

Notes for journalists:

The hunger strikers: on Monday 15th July, the 17th day of their fast, the hunger strikers continue to lose around 1  1.5 kg per day. Tara Bai, 35, has been experiencing dizziness and burning under the skin. She suffered a miscarriage soon after the disaster and had not been able to conceive since then. Rashida Bi, 46, also a gas victim, has been undergoing acute panic attacks and migraines. According to the doctor present, Rashida show symptoms of starvation a week ago. She is President of Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, and has lost five gas-exposed members of her family due to cancer. Sathyu, 48, a member of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, is doing better under the circumstances. Hopes and spirits remain high. Survivors from Bhopal, now 1000 strong, are keeping them up by singing songs and chanting slogans. See www.corpwatchindia.org and www.bhopal.net

Legal issues: on 24 May, the Central Bureau of Investigation, working under the Home Ministry, applied in a Bhopal court to dilute outstanding charges against Mr. Warren Anderson, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Union Carbide corporation, from "culpable homicide" to "negligence".  While culpable homicide draws a penalty of 10 years imprisonment and fines, "negligence" carries a punishment of up to two years in prison or fine and is not an extraditable offence. The hunger strikers allege that the government’s decisions are a direct result of behind-the-scenes pressure by Dow Chemical, who made Union Carbide a wholly owned subsidiary in February 2001. Until now, criminal proceedings against Union Carbide were difficult to enforce legally because, though the accused refuse to appear in Court, Union Carbide no longer has any assets in India. However, Dow's $10 billion acquisition of Union Carbide opened the possibility of enforcing criminal liability against the corporation as Dow has four subsidiaries and substantial assets in India. It is believed that an intensified campaign by the Bhopal survivors and their international supporters to hold Dow liable for the crimes of Carbide has caused Dow's insecurity and hence their pressure on the Government of India to effectively close the files.

Economic issues: so far 94 percent of the survivors -150,000 of whom are chronically ill - have received a meagre one off payment of £220 for their loss of health and livelihood. The Government has indicated that a portion of the funds will be used to clean up the contaminated factory site, a liability not covered by the 1989 out of court settlement contract. Interestingly, the Governments decision to this effect has come (for the first time) less than one month after Dow CEO Michael Parker made a suggestion to the same effect in Midland, Michigan, to a delegation of Bhopal activists.

The hunger strikers strongly demand that:

Fact file
December 2-3, 1984 -- Poisonous gas leak from Union Carbides pesticides factory. FIR filed on December 4. December 7 -- Prime accused Warren Anderson, nine others arrested, released on bail of Rs 25,000. 1989 -- Government and Union Carbide strike a settlement. The compensation amount is brought down to $470 million from $3.3 billion. April 1992 -- Anderson declared a fugitive from law. September 1996 -- Supreme Court diluted charges against Indian officials of Union Carbide India Limited (subsidiary majority owned by Union Carbide Corporation [UCC]), partly on grounds that culpability lies with UCC. August 1999 -- Union Carbide announces merger with Dow Chemical Company. February 2000 -- Merger occurs. Dow should have inherited assets as well as liabilities of Union Carbide. However, Dow said that they are not responsible for a factory they did not operate. The survivors say Dow should be held responsible for all pending medical and environmental liabilities in Bhopal.  May 24, 2002 -- CBI submitted the report that caused the present spark. The application submitted by the CBI modified the charges from homicide to rash and negligent act.

Contact: 
Indra Sinha
Bhopal Medical Appeal
Email <indra.sinha@virgin.net> 

Or Tim Edwards
Bhopal Justice Campaign, UK
Email <timedwards@hotmail.com>

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