Ahead of his visit to India, human rights group Amnesty International has asked United States President Barack Obama to speak up about the Bhopal gas tragedy while promoting his country’s business interests during the trip.
Even after 30 years on, people continue to suffer the impact of the disaster at a factory owned by U.S.-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) which killed 20,000 and injured thousands of others. The site is not cleaned up, the Amnesty International said on Friday.
“The failure of Obama to speak up will embolden U.S.-based companies to ignore their accountability for involvement in human rights abuses. While he is celebrating India’s Republic Day, the President should not forget the people of Bhopal, who still suffer from the effects of the disaster,” Amnesty said.
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Obama should also explain why the U.S.-based Dow Chemical Company (which owns UCC now) was ignoring repeated summons by an Indian court to explain why its wholly-owned subsidiary had failed to appear in India to face the serious criminal charges levelled against it in relation to the disaster, it said.
“These actions by Obama will set the course for U.S.-based companies to seriously consider the welfare of Indian citizens affected by their actions. While promoting U.S. business interests in India, Obama should not ignore the welfare of Indian citizens,” it added.