[IndyMedia Bombay] Bhopal Campaign for Justice

[PUKAR @ IndyMedia]

----- Original Message -----
=46rom: <mailto:jeha52@bom2.vsnl.net.in>Pervin
To: <mailto:admin@anumukti.ilbom.ernet.in>srendra sanghamitra gadekar 
; <mailto:adarkars@bom8.vsnl.net.in>Neera Adarker ; 
<mailto:a_prerna@hotmail.com>PRERNA ; 
<mailto:aarch@bom5.vsnl.net.in>mahesh khanolkar ; 
<mailto:actionmumbai@topica.com>action mumbai ; 
<mailto:acontractor@mail.fairfax.com.au>aban contractor ; 
<mailto:abeygeorge@vsnl.com>Abey George ; 
<mailto:_ashain@sancharnet.in>ashain
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 7:14 PM
Subject: National Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

National Campaign for Justice in Bhopal:

URGENT : An Appeal to support the Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

  Oppose dilution of charges against Union Carbide / Dow

  Oppose theft from the Settlement Fund

Survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster of December 1984 are stepping up 
their 16-year-long struggle to hold Union Carbide Corporation =F6 and 
now Dow Chemicals (after the Dow -UCC merger in February 2001) -- 
accountable for the world=E2s worst industrial disaster.

On May 23, 2002, in the hearing on the on-going criminal case against 
Union Carbide, the Central Bureau of Investigation made an 
application that would in effect end the case against Union 
Carbide/Dow. The Chief Judicial Magistrate of the Bhopal District 
Court had told the CBI to establish Dow=E2s accountability in the 
criminal case. Instead, the CBI=E2s application sought to dilute the 
criminal charges from homicide, punishable by 10 years=E2 imprisonment 
and a fine, to negligence, punishable by a maximum of two years=E2 
imprisonment or a fine. This would convert the worst industrial 
massacre in history into a crime equivalent to a car accident. 
=46urther, if the CBI's application is granted, there will no longer be 
any legal basis left for extraditing the authorised representatives 
of the corporation to face trial in India.

Second, on June 7,  In response to the demand of the BJP  MP , Uma 
Bharati, a Group of Ministers on Bhopal in the Central Government 
declared that residents of  20 municipal wards of Bhopal  unaffected 
by the disaster, would be given compensation from the balance of the 
settlement fund. It is a blatant attempt to rob the genuine victims 
and appease the Hindu vote bank.

  The state government=E2s Minister for Gas Relief has opposed Uma 
Bharati=E2s demand =F6 asking instead that it be given the funds to spend 
on drinking water, toxic waste clean-up and other vital activities =F6 
which are the responsibility of Dow. The settlement was for 
compensation for death and injuries caused by the disaster.

  December 3-4, 1984, huge quantities of deadly gas escaped from Union 
Carbide=E2s pesticide plant in Bhopal, killing more than 8,000 in its 
immediate wake. The death toll today is over 20,000 with more than 30 
survivors dying every month. The poisons entered the blood stream of 
the exposed people and damaged almost every organ of their bodies. 
Over 1,20,000 survivors suffer from chronic exposure. Children are 
still being born with congenital deformities. As most of the people 
earned their living through hard labour, thousands of families are on 
the brink of starvation because the breadwinners are too sick to 
work. Toxic chemicals dumped by Union Carbide have leached into the 
soil surrounding the plant, forcing over 20,000 to drink contaminated 
water.

The survivors of Bhopal have decided to oppose the two decisions of 
the Indian government, both in the court and through a hunger strike 
in New Delhi which is 10 days old already. The government has not 
responded so far.They demand that:

=AF       The Home Minister direct the CBI to withdraw its application 
and immediately demand the  extradition of Anderson.

=AF       The GoM.P take back its decision to distribute compensation 
to the residents of the 20 un-affected wards from the balance of the 
settlement funds and make arrangement for payment of interest to the 
victims of the 36 affected wards with immediate effect.

  The dilution of charges against Union Carbide and its officials is a 
license granted to multinational corporations to kill and maim the 
ordinary people in this country. Please register your solidarity with 
the victims of this horrendous tragedy and prevent the coalition of 
Indian and American criminals from succeeding in their evil task of 
scuttling justice and robbing the robbed!!

You can write to the Prime Minister of India at South Block, New 
Delhi, or fax him at: 011-3016857 / 3019817

=46or further details, please contact : 
<mailto:justiceinBhopal@yahoo.co.in>justiceinBhopal@yahoo.co.in

C/O, Vinod Shetty, 61 Gandhi Nagar, 2709, 2nd floor, Bandra East, 
Mumbai 400 051. Tel: 645 8411; 651 4211


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