Thursday, July 19, 2012

Justice for Bhopal

Dear friends,


A chemical leak in India killed 20,000 people, poisoned 500,000 and caused decades of disease and death. Justice could finally be served on the company responsible but only if the Indian government admits the full scale of the disaster. An international outcry created this opportunity -- now sign the petition to ensure no victim is ignored.

Sign the petition
A chemical leak in India killed 20,000 people, poisoned 500,000 and caused decades of disease and death -- now survivors have a real chance to get justice from the company responsible. But the Indian government is working behind the scenes to help shield Dow Chemical from big payouts. It's up to us to step in and bring victory to the victims.

It took weeks of public outcry to convince the government to target Dow at all for these crimes and now Home Affairs Minister Chidambaram is busy erasing almost 80% of the victims from the claim, drastically reducing the possible damages.

Public pressure forced the Minister to support the victims in the first place. Now we have the chance to make this court case a real push for justice. Join the call, when we reach 500,000 signers we will display hard-hitting billboards outside of the two posh clubs the Minister frequents in Delhi:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/justice_for_bhopal_a/?bBbiodb&v=16176

The Bhopal chemical spill tragedy wrecked the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and scorched the earth for generations. Yet despite this historic destruction, no justice has been served. Union Carbide, the company in charge of the plant, dodged responsibility, then was bought by Dow Chemical who have also refused to pay out fair compensation to the victims still desperate for help dealing with the loss and destruction around them.

Now, after decades of fighting for justice and a big campaign to push the Indian government to act, the petition before the Indian Supreme Court could reopen the case – paving the way to compensation from Dow to the survivors. But accurately assessing the number of victims is key to ensuring every victim gets a payout if they win. Minister Chidambaram is responsible for a brief, submitted to the court, that eliminated almost 80% of the victims as assessed by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The Minister is likely working to protect Dow in order to keep India’s investment reputation. We can show him that justice is more important than bending the law to please big corporations! Click below to sign the petition and if we reach 500,000 signers, Avaaz will take this message directly to the front doors of the elite clubs where Chidambaram relaxes:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/justice_for_bhopal_a/?bBbiodb&v=16176

The Bhopal survivors need allies to win their decades long fight for justice, and we can answer their call. In the past, Avaaz has successful stood with other communities under threat from multinational companies from Guatemala to the Ivory Coast. Now let’s support the victims of Bhopal in their final push for justice.

With hope,

Meredith, Iain, Alaphia, Pascal, Emma, Ricken and the rest of the Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION

The Tragedy Continues (Tehelka)
http://www.tehelka.com/story_main53.asp?filename=Op140712SATINATH.asp

Bhopal Activists Slam U.S. Ruling (blog)
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/06/28/bhopal-activists-slam-u-s-ruling

Between the flames (The Hindu)
http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3635160.ece

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