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Rediff.com  » News » US silent about Anderson's extradition

US silent about Anderson's extradition

By Aziz Haniffa
June 08, 2010 09:34 IST
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The United States on Monday reacted cautiously to the judgment in the Bhopal gas tragedy, which claimed over 15,000 lives in Bhopal 26 years ago, when a poisonous gas leaked from a pesticide plant of Union Carbide near the city.

The US remained non-committal about the extradition of Warren Anderson, erstwhile chief executive of Union Carbide, and about seeking compensation for the victims of the massive disaster from Dow Chemical, which acquired Union Carbide several years ago.

When State Department spokesman P J Crowley was asked if they had ever received a formal request for the extradition of Anderson from the government of India, he noted, "As a matter of policy, extradition requests are normally confidential."

Responding to the contention that the shabby treatment of victims and their families and the lack of adequate compensation by Union Carbide would necessarily lead to deep mistrust of such multinational companies, Crowley acknowledged, "This tragedy happened 26 years ago, and it was a terrible tragedy -- one of the worst industrial accidents in human history. And, we certainly hope the verdict brings some closure to the families of the victims of this tragedy."

But he asserted that the issue will not affect the burgeoning India-US relations and the priorities set forth by the inaugural Strategic Dialogue held last week in Washington. "Our countries are closely connected; our economies are increasingly closely connected. So, I certainly would hope this particular case does not inhibit -- or the continuing expansion of economic, cultural, and political ties between our two nations. We fully expect that this will not be the case."

Asked if this disaster wasn't a major factor in the opposition to the Nuclear Liability Bill in the Parliament, Crowley said, "The Indian parliament will have to make a judgment of the nuclear liabilities bill, but this criminal case should have no relation to the liability legislation currently before the parliament."

Later, at the Foreign Press Centre, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Robert Blake said, "On the matter of Bhopal and the announcement that was made today by the Indian courts, that is an internal matter to India. So, if you have any questions about that, I would just refer you to the courts themselves about that decision."

He refused to discuss the issue of Anderson's extradition. Blake also remained mum on whether the Barack Obama administration will consider urging Dow Chemical to compensate the Bhopal gas tragedy victims and their families, as the administration was pushing British Petroleum to do in the wake of the massive Gulf oil spill off the coast of Louisiana.

"As a matter of policy, we never discuss extradition, so I cannot comment on that," he said.

Echoing Crowley's sentiments, Blake said, "Obviously, that was one of the greatest industrial tragedies and industrial accidents in human history, and let me just say, that we hope that this verdict today helps to bring some closure to the victims and their families."

"But I don't expect this verdict to open any new inquiries or anything like that. On the contrary, we hope that this is going to help bring closure," he predicted.

Image: The Union Carbide Corp pesticide plant in Bhopal | Photograph: Reinhard Krause/Reuters

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Aziz Haniffa in Washington, DC