‘White House cites clause to keep mum on Bhopal gas tragedy plea’
The Indian Express reports today how The White House has declined the chance to respond to a petition regarding the Bhopal gas tragedy filed by civil rights activists from India and across the world which gathered in excess of 127,000 signatures: CLICK
The article explains how the White House’s response asked readers to refer to the highlights of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States in June this year. “The President and Prime Minister made important strides together to advance a strategic partnership on energy security, clean energy, and climate change and reaffirmed our two countries’ cooperation on environmental stewardship.”
Previously, the US and India had signed a ‘Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty’ and, as the petition pointed out, according to the conditions of this treaty the US Department of Justice was obliged to deliver a notice to Dow Chemical, from the Bhopal courts, which would have obliged Dow to attend court in Bhopal on the 13th July.
On November 14, 2012, BP and the US Department of Justice reached a settlement under which BP agreed to pay $4.5 billion in fines and other payments in respect of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. It was the largest fine of its kind in US history. BP also agreed to plead guilty to felony counts related to the deaths of 11 workers. Find out more: HERE
