Bhopal victims present demands on 30th anniversary of disaster

On 2 December 1984, a pesticide plant run by a Union Carbide subsidiary leaked about 40 tons of deadly methyl isocyanate gas in the Indian city of Bhopal. The final death toll has been estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000, making it one of the worst industrial disasters in history.

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Although some Indian officials of the American company have been found guilty of negligence, attempts to bring the late Warren Anderson, then chief executive of the company, to justice were frustrated. In a 1989 settlement of a suit in the Indian Supreme Court against the corporation, the Indian government, in a shameful abdication of its duty to protect its citizens, accepted a total compensation of $470 million. Attempts to secure a higher compensation have been resisted by Dow Chemical, which purchased Union Carbide in 1999. It has insisted that all of the company's liabilities were settled in the 1989 agreement.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the disaster, we reproduce below a report of a press conference by representatives of five organisations of the survivors.

AT a press conference on the occasion of the 30thanniversary of the Union Carbide disaster, representatives of five organisations of the survivors presented their list of demands and recent achievements of their struggle.

Holding the two US corporations Union Carbide and Dow Chemical primarily responsible for the ongoing disasters in Bhopal, the organisations charged both the US and Indian governments with aiding corporate crime. They demanded that Union Carbide and Dow Chemical answer criminal charges and obey a Bhopal court's summons, pay additional compensation, and arrange for clean-up of the toxic contamination in Bhopal.

The organisations demanded that the US government acknowledge and express regret for financing the hazardously designed Union Carbide plant in Bhopal through the EXIM Bank. They also demanded that the US government express regret for refusing to extradite prime accused Warren Anderson, the former Union Carbide CEO who died while absconding from Indian courts.

The organisations called upon the Indian government to move on the extradition of John McDonald, secretary of Union Carbide, and not allow Dow Chemical to make any investment in the country until it accepted Union Carbide's liabilities in Bhopal.

The organisations also demanded that the Indian government set up a commission on Bhopal for effective medical care and economic rehabilitation and social support, and create a special prosecution cell for speedy prosecution of accused Indian corporate officials including Keshub Mahindra, former chairman of Union Carbide's Indian subsidiary.

Achievements

Some of the notable achievements of the struggle of the survivors in the last four years include completion in August of a project to supply clean drinking water to 50,000 residents of the communities with contaminated groundwater, Dow Chemical's withdrawal of its corporate logo from the London Olympic Stadium wrap in 2012, the blacklisting of Dow Agrosciences by the Indian government in 2011 and, most recently, the summoning of Dow Chemical to the Bhopal district court.

The five organisations, which have been working together for the last five years, held a 'festival of alternatives' in Bhopal from 30 November to 2 December showcasing sustainable solutions in healthcare, energy, education, livelihood and agriculture. Forty-six organisations from different parts of the country participated in this festival.

A delegation with representatives from 10 Scottish trade unions and members of Friends of the Earth, Scotland, ANOREV (Hong Kong), Hazards Network (UK), Minamata Solidarity Network (Japan), Bhopal Medical Appeal (UK) and Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (Malaysia) were among the international supporters of the Bhopal justice struggle who arrived in Bhopal to express solidarity.

Members and supporters of the Bhopal survivors' organisations took part in a torchlight rally on2 December and a rally to the Carbide factory on3 December. Musical events were held in the evenings of1 and 3 December at Iqbal Maidan, the festival venue. - International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

*Third World Resurgence No. 290/291, October/November 2014, p 8