Pervez Bari | Clarion India
BHOPAL – Leaders of four organisations of survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal have jointly condemned the two-day “Justicemakers Mela” starting here on Friday (29 November) for being sponsored by Trilegal, a law firm that represents Union Carbide’s accomplice DuPont, as well as several corporations involved in the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
Rashida Bee, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh said: “On its website, Trilegal, that is sponsoring this event, lists DuPont as one of its corporate clients. As we all know, DuPont merged with Union Carbide’s owner Dow Chemical in 2017 and now owns substantial Union Carbide property. DuPont is very much part of the corporate conspiracy to create legal hurdles for Bhopal survivors to receive any legal remedies.”
“Tri-legal represents not just criminal corporations like DuPont but also Israel Aerospace Industries, Lockheed Martin, Augusta Westland, Boeing and other corporations that are profiting from the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” said Balkrishna Namdeo, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha.
Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information & Action said: “We are shocked by the audacity of this NGO called Agami that is organising this event around the 40th anniversary of the worst corporate crime in Bhopal. It is also shocking to find that hardly any of the 600 “justicemaker” invitees to this mela have cared to check the abominable client list of Tri-legal that is funding their participation.”
“What kind of justice makers ignore the fact that their event is financed with money from an accomplice of “Killer Carbide” and those responsible for the death of 40 thousand children in Gaza” wondered, Nawab Khan of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha.
It may be recalled here that on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, the Union Carbide pesticide manufacturing factory in Bhopal had spewed nearly 40 tonnes of poisonous Methyl Iso-cyanate gas exposing over 5,00,000 people to the toxic fumes. While 3,000 people had perished virtually instantly and over the years more than 25,000 have kissed death and the sad saga is still continuing. About half a million people are still suffering from the side effects of the poisonous gas and several thousand people have been maimed for life.
