Chirac orders asbestos ship back to France
LISBETH KIRK
16.02.2006 @ 09:56 CET
Following a ruling by the French supreme court, president Jacques Chirac has ordered the return to France of an asbestos-lined warship, the Clemenceau, on its way to a ship breaking yard in India.
The case was brought to the courts in both France and India by Greenpeace and anti-asbestos groups concerned that the vessel contained unsafe amounts of asbestos.
"This is a victory for international law, a victory for Indian workers, and a victory for workers all across Asia" said Pascal Husting, Greenpeace Executive Director in France.
"In today's globalised world it is vital that nations, such as France and India, co-operate to uphold global justice and not shamelessly pass on their responsibility to those in vulnerable areas of the planet," he said.
The decision of the French supreme court came on the eve of a planned state visit to India by President Chirac next week (19-21 February).
The French defence ministry has said that all visible asbestos waste was removed from the Clemenceau before it left French waters in December, but that 45 tons of the material remained in the ship's hull.
Greenpeace and a number of anti-asbestos groups have asserted that there is at least 10 times more asbestos still on the ship.
The ship is currently in the Arabian Sea after India refused it entry into its waters.
India said it wanted more information before allowing the 27,000-ton warship to dock.
The European Commission welcomed on Wednesday (15 February) Mr Chirac's decision to order the ship back home.
"It is a wise decision. This waste was very dangerous," said Barbara Helfferich, spokeswoman for EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas, according to AFP.