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Email Action - don't make backroom deals with Dow

Recently reports have surfaced that Indian government ministers are preparing to make an out of court settlement with Dow over the Bhopal disaster.

Tell the Indian government that backroom deals with Dow are simply unacceptable, and that Justice for the Bhopalis must be accomplished in a fair and open way. Fill in your name and hometown in the form below, and alter the letter to match your personal concerns with how this matter has been dealt with.

To: [Your message will be sent to the following three people]
H.R. Bhardwaj, Minister of Law & Justice
Oscar Fernandes, Minister Labour and Employment
Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry

Subject: Please don't make backroom deals with Dow

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding reports that you are a member of a group of Ministers looking to make an out of court settlement deal with Dow Chemical regarding the remediation of the severely contaminated former Union Carbide site in Bhopal. I am greatly disturbed by this news and question with what authority the Prime Minister's office and Cabinet seek to undermine ongoing legal proceedings in the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

I must remind you that 10-15 people are dying each month in Bhopal due to the 1984 disaster, water contamination, lack of adequate access to clean water, and near absence of appropriate health care for chronic illness due to toxic exposure. A settlement akin to that the Union government hatched with Union Carbide in 1989 - a shameful, paltry sell out, totally devoid of input from the people afflicted - would constitute a profound insult, to add to these preventable injuries.

At every turn, Dow Chemical has downplayed and denied the extent of the contamination and its own knowledge of the reality. As a consequence, thousands of people have been poisoned and are being poisoned still. Doctors talk of an epidemic of birth defects, cancers and other manifestations. The ongoing proceedings against Dow offer the best chance of environmental justice being met in this case. If Dow's liability is removed by a backroom deal, also gone is any hope of a safe and comprehensive clean-up to international standards. Also gone is any chance of meaningful damages and justice for those who are suffering.

In 1989, the Union government was vilified around the world and there were huge protests in India. Make no mistake, national and international sympathy for the victims of Dow/Carbide persists and is growing. The suit against Dow is seen as a critical test case for the 'polluter pays' principle. Is the current Union government prepared for the ill wind that would most certainly follow this proposed sell out of the contamination affected of Bhopal?

Even now, Dow Chemical refuses to submit its 100% owned subsidiary Union Carbide to criminal proceedings in Bhopal it has been fugitive from for over 16 years. At the same time, Dow has been caught selling Union Carbide's technology in India as its own. Apparently without shame, Dow is under investigation by the CBI for bribing officials to gain Indian licenses for its toxic products. With what shame do members of the Union government associate with such a company?

Please stand up for what is right for India, right for the Bhopal survivors and right for the international community. Refrain from undermining the courts by making backroom deals with an unabashed polluter; one who continues to mock India law and, by default, India itself.

Sincerely,

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Site last updated June 17, 2007