Bhopal gas victims disappointed as Anderson could not be tried

Protesters say there was 'deliberate negligence' on the part of the Indian government in bringing Anderson to book

Five organisations working for the survivors of the December 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal held a 'condemnation meeting' on Friday in response to the news of the death of Warren Anderson, the former chairman of the US multinational firm and the prime accused in the case.

Many survivors from the worst-affected communities, who lost their family members to the disaster, assembled outside Union Carbide's abandoned factory here on Friday to spit on an enlarged photograph of the deceased executive.

"There is enough evidence to establish that Anderson was directly involved in the decision making and oversight concerning the design, operation and maintenance of the Bhopal factory and he was fully aware of the hazards the factory posed to the lives and health of the residents of the city. He is also guilty of approving the faulty waste management system used in the Bhopal factory that is responsible for the ongoing contamination of soil and groundwater," said Satinath Sarangi of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action. "Hopefully, Anderson's life in hiding and his ignominious death would be a lesson for all corporate criminals," he added.

According to the protesters, besides the US government's overt and covert efforts in protecting its citizen, there was 'deliberate negligence' on the part of the Indian government in bringing Anderson to book.

Balkrishna Namdeo of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pensionbhogee Sangharsh Morcha blamed the successive governments at the Centre for the negligence in extraditing Anderson from the US. "The government took 11 years to send its first request for extradition of Anderson and then did nothing when the US rejected that request on specious grounds. A second request still remains pending with the US State and Justice Departments and there has been no attempt by the Indian government to expedite matters in the past three years," he said.

According to Rashida Bee, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, Anderson's was a fit case for life-time imprisonment. "He faced grave criminal charges of homicide, grievous assault and killing and poisoning of animals and, if convicted, would have spent a lifetime in jail. Yet, this man who killed more than 25,000 people and poisoned over half-a-million never spent a day in jail because the US government protected him to his dying day."

Nawab Khan, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha, Union Carbide and Dow Chemical's criminal, civil and environmental liabilities for the ongoing disasters remain unchanged with Anderson's death.

"Dow Chemical has been summoned by the Bhopal District Court to explain by November 12 why it is not making Union Carbide appear in the criminal case. We will pressure the Indian government to now seek extradition of John Macdonald, Union Carbide's secretary." he said.