JULY 10: International Day of Action for Bhopal
AN APPEAL FROM THE BHOPAL HUNGER STRIKERS

5 July 2002, New Delhi

The Indian Government has taken decisions aimed at burying the ongoing saga of suffering of the survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal. These decisions are a direct result of behind-the-scenes pressure by Dow Chemicals, which has acquired Union Carbide, the company responsible for the Bhopal gas disaster. Until now, criminal proceedings against Union Carbide were difficult to enforce legally because Union Carbide does not have any assets in India, and the accused refused to appear in Court. However, Dow’s acquisition of Union Carbide opened up great possibilities of enforcing criminal liability against the Corporation. Dow has four subsidiaries and substantial assets in India. In fact, the intensified campaign by the Bhopal survivors and their international supporters to hold Dow liable for the crimes of Carbide, its newly acquired company, has directly resulted in Dow’s insecurity and their resultant pressure on the Government of India to effectively close the files.

This has catapulted the Bhopal campaign for justice into an unanticipated emergency. As you read this, three of us, including two women survivors à Rasheeda Bee and Tara Bai à and Satinath Sarangi, a long-time Bhopal activist, are on to the seventh day of our indefinite hunger strike in New Delhi.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has moved to dilute charges against prime accused Warren Anderson à the chairman of Union Carbide at the time of the disaster à from homicide to negligence. This move will, in effect, end the criminal proceedings against the company responsible for the world's worst industrial disaster. Simultaneously, the Group of (Union) Ministers on Bhopal has recommended that the compensation money held in trust for the survivors of the Bhopal disaster be distributed to 20 non-gas-affected municipal wards. This proposal is aimed solely at winning votes from the residents of the 20 wards and will rob the gas-affected people of what is rightfully theirs.

Despite the steadfastness of our hunger strike and the support extended by numerous members of parliament, trade unions and mass organisations, the political establishment has failed to respond hoping that the protest will die away. More than anytime else, your support at this juncture is crucial to ensure that justice is delivered in Bhopal.

On 10 July, 2002, a massive rally is planned in New Delhi with the participation of mass organisations, including trade unions and public interest groups. We appeal to you to set aside this day for solidarity actions in your city.

WHAT YOU CAN DO on 10 JULY 2002:
(WHATEVER YOU DO, Please inform us by emailing  nity68@vsnl.com and  admin@del3.vsnl.net.in)

1. Organise a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. hunger strike at a prominent location in your city or at the Indian embassy in your city if there is one. Issue a press statement incorporating the key demands of the Bhopal survivors. You can download the demands from the Take Action section of www.corpwatchindia.org.

2. Organise a simple demo outside the Indian embassy with banners that say "Justice for Bhopal. Extradite Warren Anderson. Distribute compensation money to survivors." Hand over a petition with demands to the Ambassador.

3. Organise candle-light vigils or other peaceful gatherings.

4. Call the Indian embassy in your city to echo the demands of the survivors.

5. Call the Ministry of Chemicals (India Tel: +91 11 3381573). Ask to speak to the Minister and demand that the Ministry should rescind its decision to distribute the survivors' compensation money to the 20 non-gas-affected wards, and instead move towards rapid and just compensation of survivors in the 36 gas-affected wards of Bhopal.

6. Call the Ministry of Home (India Tel: +91 11 378.23.97). Ask to speak to the Minister and demand that the Ministry should direct the Central Bureau of Investigation to withdraw its application that the charges against Warren Anderson be diluted from homicide to negligence. Demand that Warren Anderson and Union Carbide representatives be extradited and made to face trial in India for their crimes against the people of Bhopal.

7. Write letters to the editor emphasising the following points:
a) The Government of India is complicit in the crimes against the people of Bhopal by shielding the accused - Union Carbide and its new owner Dow Chemicals - from the pending criminal liabilities in the Indian courts. This is a travesty of justice and a sell-out of the interests of the victims of the world's worst industrial disaster.

b) Warren Anderson and Dow Chemicals, Union Carbide's new owner, have to face trial in India for their complicity in the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster which has claimed more than 20,000 lives and left 150,000 with serious health effects.

c) The Central Bureau of Investigation should withdraw its application to dilute charges against Warren Anderson from homicide to negligence and instead move to quickly extradite Anderson;

d) The Ministry of Chemicals should rescind its order to distribute the compensation money, that rightfully belongs to the survivors, among 20 non-gas-affected wards. Instead, the Government should arrange to distribute the money to the victims of the disaster, 94 percent of whom have till date received a meagre Rs. 25,000 ($500) for lifelong health impacts and lost livelihoods.

You can send these letters to:
 feedback@hindustantimes.com (Hindustan Times)
 toieditor_delhi@indiatimes.com (Times of India)
 letters@thehindu.co.in (The Hindu)
 http://www.expressindia.com/about/feedback.html (Indian Express)

8. Join the fax action directed towards the Indian Government at  http://www.corpwatchindia.org/action/PAA.jsp?articleid=1843

Sincerely,

Rasheeda Bee, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Tara Bai, Gas Peedit Nirashrit Morcha, Bhopal
Satinath Sarangi, Bhopal Group for Information and Action

For more information, contact:
The National Campaign for Justice in Bhopal
B14, Second Floor, Gulmohar Park, New Delhi 110 049.
Tel: +91-11-656.17.43 / +91-11-651.48.47
 nity68@vsnl.com and/or  admin@del3.vsnl.net.in