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10.30 a.m. on the 3rd of January 2006: After much stamping of feet in
the cold, we arrived at the French embassy in New Delhi and unfurled a
large banner that told them, "Clemenceau – Your Waste. Your
Responsibility." We also held up six-feet high images of the
ship-breaking yard at Alang, to make sure the French government knew
exactly where their toxic behemoth will arrive and the hellish
circumstances under which Indian workers will dismantle it.
Not surprisingly, they didn't appreciate the reminder. Within seconds,
our banners and posters were snatched away, though we continued to
stand at their doorstep, telling the accompanying journalists how
outrageously the French government was behaving on the issue. Click
here to read the press release we issued.
On December 12th, when we'd boarded the Clemenceau in Toulon, France, we'd demanded that the 'Asbestos Carrier – Stay out of India'. Our activists held firm for 23 hours in sub-zero temperatures and whistling winds, but the French government continued to hide behind a confidentiality clause, their only response being to arrest all protesting activists. In Delhi too, all the activists protesting outside the French embassy were arrested, and detained for a few hours before being respectfully released and escorted back to the embassy to meet Monsieur Dominique Girard, Ambassador of France in India… not that much came out of that meeting!
What's the fuss all about?
This 27,000 tonne military aircraft carrier – quite significantly, owned by the French government, and not by the private shipping companies who routinely violate international laws on ship-breaking – contains large quantities of hazardous materials; between 500 to 1000 tonnes of asbestos as well as other organic pollutants like TBTs, PCBs etc. These hazardous materials are found on all end-of-life ships, and Greenpeace has been campaigning for several years now, to make it mandatory for ship owners to remove all toxics from their ships before sending them ahead to ship-breaking yards.
The rules are clear, but who's following them?
The Basel Convention – which both France and India are signatories to – clearly prohibits the transboundary shipment of waste from an OECD country to a non-OECD country. The French government is choosing to twist the Basel Convention to its own convenience, claiming that a warship cannot be considered a waste until it has been completely dismantled. But they're not fooling anybody – in anticipation of this kind of misinterpretation, the decision VII/26 taken at the COP7 meeting of the Basel Convention, specifies clearly that ships-for-scrap are considered waste. No arguments.
At the Indian end too, the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee has discussed the Clemenceau as long ago as February 2005, and laid down stringent conditions (see footnote 1) that must be met before the Clemenceau is allowed to arrive in India.
Lies, lies and more lies.
In our meeting with the Ambassador, even more lies were told. First, they'd said they would decontaminate 98% of the asbestos on board, now they say they've removed as much as 30-40%.
They claimed it is a mere legend that Turkey rejected the ship, though it has been established in the past that Turkey and Greece both took a strong position against France and refused to allow the Clemenceau onto their shores.
They insisted that Indian ship-breaking facilities are up to the mark. We all know what the reality is!
They said they're operating with full transparency, and have shared all relevant documentation with relevant authorities – ummm, who might those be, we wonder, since authorities like the SCMC and the Ministry of Environment and Forests have not yet received the documentation.
But the one really bold lie – and a new one at that! – that the Ambassador issued forth, was that they were completely unaware of the SCMC's having laid down the condition that an independent third party audit of the decontamination must be performed, and the resulting certificate furnished to Indian authorities before the ship may be imported.
Coming up next, the whistleblowers come to town!
Technopure, the company that was originally contracted to perform the decontamination of the Clemenceau before it was sent to India, told The Hindu that the French government had deliberately chosen the cheapest possible option of removing only the visible wastes from the decks of the ship. They have also confirmed that our estimate of there being between 500-1000 tonnes of asbestos in the ship, are closer to the truth than the 45 tonnes that the French government claims.
On the 6th of January, the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee will meet to talk about the Clemenceau. Technopure officials have agreed to come to India to formally share the truth with them as well.
Once that evidence has been tabled, the SCMC will advise the Ministry of Environment and Forests – and we're holding our breath in anticipation, quite certain that the advice will be to turn the Clemenceau back.
Finally, we hope, the truth will be told. Watch this space for further updates.
Footnote 1 :
The meeting of the SCMC sub-committee on shipbreaking on February 2, 2005, laid down the following conditions for the import of the Clemenceau:
"The Committee indicated that several documents would still have to be submitted by Sree Ram:
- Report of the decontamination in Toulon, France which would provide details of actual quantities of asbestos and other hazardous materials removed from the ship;
- Independent third-party audit verifying the report;
- Certificate from the French authorities that the ship has been decontaminated and does not violate the provisions of the Basel Convention.
In addition, MoEF shall procure from the French Embassy all the relevant documents relating to the ship including an official statement from the French Government that in its view and that of its own experts, the hazardous materials including asbestos have been removed upto 98% and the balance would be recovered at Alang under guidance and coordination of the company (M/s SDIC Ltd.) as well.
Subject to the above, SCMC has no objection to the arrival and demolition of ship in India."
Watch the Clemenceau action video
Click here to read the report that motivated Greenpeace and FIDH activists from five countries to take action against the asbestos carrier.
Click here to read the press release
Greenpeace activists demonstrated outside the French embassy in India.
On December 12th, when we'd boarded the Clemenceau in Toulon, France, we'd demanded that the 'Asbestos Carrier – Stay out of India'. Our activists held firm for 23 hours in sub-zero temperatures and whistling winds, but the French government continued to hide behind a confidentiality clause, their only response being to arrest all protesting activists. In Delhi too, all the activists protesting outside the French embassy were arrested, and detained for a few hours before being respectfully released and escorted back to the embassy to meet Monsieur Dominique Girard, Ambassador of France in India… not that much came out of that meeting!
What's the fuss all about?
This 27,000 tonne military aircraft carrier – quite significantly, owned by the French government, and not by the private shipping companies who routinely violate international laws on ship-breaking – contains large quantities of hazardous materials; between 500 to 1000 tonnes of asbestos as well as other organic pollutants like TBTs, PCBs etc. These hazardous materials are found on all end-of-life ships, and Greenpeace has been campaigning for several years now, to make it mandatory for ship owners to remove all toxics from their ships before sending them ahead to ship-breaking yards.
The rules are clear, but who's following them?
The Basel Convention – which both France and India are signatories to – clearly prohibits the transboundary shipment of waste from an OECD country to a non-OECD country. The French government is choosing to twist the Basel Convention to its own convenience, claiming that a warship cannot be considered a waste until it has been completely dismantled. But they're not fooling anybody – in anticipation of this kind of misinterpretation, the decision VII/26 taken at the COP7 meeting of the Basel Convention, specifies clearly that ships-for-scrap are considered waste. No arguments.
At the Indian end too, the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee has discussed the Clemenceau as long ago as February 2005, and laid down stringent conditions (see footnote 1) that must be met before the Clemenceau is allowed to arrive in India.
Lies, lies and more lies.
In our meeting with the Ambassador, even more lies were told. First, they'd said they would decontaminate 98% of the asbestos on board, now they say they've removed as much as 30-40%.
They claimed it is a mere legend that Turkey rejected the ship, though it has been established in the past that Turkey and Greece both took a strong position against France and refused to allow the Clemenceau onto their shores.
They insisted that Indian ship-breaking facilities are up to the mark. We all know what the reality is!
They said they're operating with full transparency, and have shared all relevant documentation with relevant authorities – ummm, who might those be, we wonder, since authorities like the SCMC and the Ministry of Environment and Forests have not yet received the documentation.
But the one really bold lie – and a new one at that! – that the Ambassador issued forth, was that they were completely unaware of the SCMC's having laid down the condition that an independent third party audit of the decontamination must be performed, and the resulting certificate furnished to Indian authorities before the ship may be imported.
Coming up next, the whistleblowers come to town!
Technopure, the company that was originally contracted to perform the decontamination of the Clemenceau before it was sent to India, told The Hindu that the French government had deliberately chosen the cheapest possible option of removing only the visible wastes from the decks of the ship. They have also confirmed that our estimate of there being between 500-1000 tonnes of asbestos in the ship, are closer to the truth than the 45 tonnes that the French government claims.
On the 6th of January, the Supreme Court Monitoring Committee will meet to talk about the Clemenceau. Technopure officials have agreed to come to India to formally share the truth with them as well.
Once that evidence has been tabled, the SCMC will advise the Ministry of Environment and Forests – and we're holding our breath in anticipation, quite certain that the advice will be to turn the Clemenceau back.
Finally, we hope, the truth will be told. Watch this space for further updates.
Footnote 1 :
The meeting of the SCMC sub-committee on shipbreaking on February 2, 2005, laid down the following conditions for the import of the Clemenceau:
"The Committee indicated that several documents would still have to be submitted by Sree Ram:
- Report of the decontamination in Toulon, France which would provide details of actual quantities of asbestos and other hazardous materials removed from the ship;
- Independent third-party audit verifying the report;
- Certificate from the French authorities that the ship has been decontaminated and does not violate the provisions of the Basel Convention.
In addition, MoEF shall procure from the French Embassy all the relevant documents relating to the ship including an official statement from the French Government that in its view and that of its own experts, the hazardous materials including asbestos have been removed upto 98% and the balance would be recovered at Alang under guidance and coordination of the company (M/s SDIC Ltd.) as well.
Subject to the above, SCMC has no objection to the arrival and demolition of ship in India."
Watch the Clemenceau action video
Click here to read the report that motivated Greenpeace and FIDH activists from five countries to take action against the asbestos carrier.
Click here to read the press release
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