Bhopal Disaster Debate

Speech by Liz Lynne delivered to European Parliament on Tue 14th Dec 2004

While Dow Chemical and the Indian Government argue over who is to blame for the Bhopal disaster, the people continue to suffer and die from their two decade legacy.

More than 7,000 people died within days but inaction has seen 15,000 further deaths which could have been avoided. Even today twenty years on neither side seems to care about the suffering only about their reputations.

As many as 100,000 people are suffering chronic and debilitating illnesses with 10 to 15 people a month continuing to die. The survivors still await justice, compensation and medical assistance. The plant site which continues to pollute would cost an estimated £15million to decommission. This is in contrast to Dow's yearly sales of £16Bn and India's GDP of £320Bn.

The Indian Government have also yet to spend $330million of the original compensation given to them by Union Carbide.

The Water supply in nearby slums is 500 times above the maximum recommended WHO levels.

How can the international community , a multinational company and one of the worlds main countries stand by and watch this happen.

Just now it shouldn't be about who is to blame but who is going to stop the suffering. Only once that has happened can the people of Bhopal even begin to think about justice.

Bhopal resident Jabbar Kahn who runs the Bhopal Women Gas Victims Industrial Association said in the Guardian:

"In New York after 9/11 there was compensation, punishment and clean up in just a few months. In Bhopal after 20 years we have nothing."

We cannot afford to stand by any longer