- Title: SWITZERLAND: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM/GREENPEACE STAGES
- Date: 27th January 2005
- Summary: (W3) DAVOS, SWITZERLAND (JANUARY 27, 2005) (REUTERS ) SLV OF GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS DONNING CHEMICAL SUITS (3 SHOTS) SLV ACTIVIST LYING ON GROUND SV SECURITY MAN WATCHING SLV PROTESTER LYING IN FRONT OF BUS SLV OF PROTESTERS LYING IN FRONT OF BANNER READING ' CORPORATE CRIMINALS - TAKE RESPONSIBILITY NOW' SLV/CU ACTIVIST LYING ON GROUND (3 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 11th February 2005 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: DAVOS, SWITZERLAND
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: General,Economy,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA60CSYQFSZ9BX378BJEABABEU
- Story Text: While powerful men from the worlds of politics,
business and music attend the WEF, Greenpeace stages a
die-in to help the victims of Bhopal.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton appeared with
Microsoft CEO Bill Gates, President Of South Africa Thabo
Mbeki, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Rock Star Bono
and Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Nigeria at an event
during the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland on
Thursday (January 27). The event was held to discuss the
problems of the African continent.
Outside the Forum Greenpeace demonstrators staged a
protest, calling on chemical company Dow to help victims of
the 1984 Bhopal gas poisoning.
"This is a 'die in action' where more than sixty
activists are here to tell Dow who is a member of World
Economic Forum and is present here that DOW needs to assume
responsibility for Bhopal," said activist Rachna Tingra.
Business leaders at the Davos summit are set to tackle
issues of corporate responsibility, pledging greater
efforts on climate change or poverty at the forum.
But activists say frequent pledges of by corporations
to do more on social issues are rarely met.
Dow Chemical Company, which acquired Union Carbide in
the 1990's, has been accused of failing to assume
accountability in the aftermath of the chemical spill at a
Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, India, in 1984.
Thousands of people were killed when 40 tonnes of lethal
gas leaked from the pesticide plant in one of the world's
worst environmental disasters. Thousands more have suffered
chronic illness.
Earlier on Thursday Blair, rock star Bono and Microsoft
CEO Bill Gates shared a common platform at the WEF where
2,500 political and business leaders have gathered to
address key issues facing the world economy.
"Around a million people die every year in Africa from
malaria. The World Health Organisation has been very clear
about what the solution is, the solution is the provision
of bednets for people. It will make a major, huge
difference, in the parts of Africa where there is provision
of such bednets the rate of malaria is considerably
reduced. It costs, according to the World Health
Organisation, round about 300 million pounds in order to
provide this," Blair told journalists.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates - who has just pledged 400
million pounds (800 million U.S. dollars) of his personal
fortune towards making vital vaccines available in the
Third World - told reporters the failure of modern science
to pay attention to Africa's problem was scandalous.
"Millions of children die in Africa who shouldn't die,
who it would be very easy to save and particularly in this
area where we have these great advances in science. The
fact that we don't apply the resources to the known cures
or coming up with better cures is really, I think, the most
scandalous issue of our time," Gates said.
Rock star Bono sought to put pressure on the United
States, who many fear will renege on aid commitments it
made last year because of a looming budget deficit.
"At the moment we hear that they are slipping back on
their commitment. It would have been 5 billion dollars this
year and we hear that the number is going to be lower. That
would be really disappointing and I think that President
Bush should be very proud of what he started with the
millennium challenge and I think it would be a fantastic
model for others to follow. I think the U.S. should stand
by those two initiatives and go further and not retreat
under this crushing budget deficit, said Bono. "The United
States on the list of the 22 richest countries in the
world, are as a percentage, as per capita are number 22,
they are the bottom of the class as a percentage of giving
to the poorest of the poor, so I don't think this is a time
to cut back," he said. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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