The Indian government is looking at the need for tougher laws to deal with industrial disasters, amid outrage in India about punishment meted out for the 1984 deadly gas leak in Bhopal from a Union Carbide-owned chemical plant. Thousands of people were killed after inhaling the poisonous gas, while tens of thousands were left coping with serious health ailments.
面对全国上下因1984年博帕尔致命毒气泄漏事件处罚结果引发的不满，印度政府正在考虑是否需要出台更严格的法律应对工业灾害。美国联合碳化公司在博帕尔的那家工厂发生毒气泄漏之后，上千人因吸入有毒气体死亡，数以万计的人灾后余生继续同严重的健康疾病斗争。
In the days since a local court handed out two-year prison terms to seven former Indian employees of Union Carbide, many searching questions have been raised about the verdict.
自从地方法院宣布对七名前联合碳化公司印度籍员工判处两年监禁以来，判决结果引发了许多令人深思的问题。
Angry survivors, activists and the media are asking why it took nearly 26 years to get the first convictions in the disaster.
愤怒的幸存者、社会活动人士和媒体纷纷质问为什么时隔近26年才首次给灾难的肇事者定罪。
Rachna Dhingra represents the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, which has been working to rehabilitate and get justice for the victims of the gas leak. She blames the government and a slow moving judiciary for the long wait.
博帕尔情报行动组织代表拉奇纳·丁格拉一直致力于为毒气泄漏事件的受害者恢复和争取公平公正。她指责政府办事不力，司法过程进展太慢。
"It has gone from one court to another and there has been no will actually to strengthen the case… there has been lack of political will," said Dhingra.
她说：“这个案子从一个法院移交到另一个法院，政府实际上无意支持这个案子，政治意愿是不够的。”
Campaigners have slammed the verdict, calling the two-year prison term for the former top managers "too light." However, lawyers point out that this was the maximum sentence the local court could have handed out for the offense for which the men were tried.
社会活动人士猛烈抨击判决结果，认为对前任高管两年监禁的处罚“太轻”。然而律师指出，这已经是地方法院针对这些人的罪行能做出的最大限度的判决了。
The managers of Union Carbide, who have been granted bail, were originally charged with culpable homicide, which could have resulted in a harsher sentence. But, in 1996, the supreme court reduced the charges to criminal negligence, citing existing laws.
已被保释的联合碳化公司的高管们最初被指控犯了误杀罪，本来可能面临更严厉的判决。然而最高法院1996年援引现存法律将罪名减轻为玩忽职守。
Facing a barrage of criticism for failing to get adequate justice for the tens of thousands of victims of the Bhopal gas leak, the government has said it needs to revisit laws pertaining to the kind of industrial disaster witnessed in Bhopal.
面对没能向成千上万博帕尔毒气泄漏事件的受害者争取足够公平公正的猛烈批评，政府表示需要重温有关处理类似博帕尔工业灾害的法律。
A spokesperson for the ruling Congress Party, Jayanti Natarajan, says a group of nine senior ministers will examine the issue.
执政党国大党的发言人贾扬提·纳塔拉扬说，一个由九名高级部长组成的小组将就此事进行调查。
"An empowered group of ministers has been set up to study whether any changes in the law are necessary. We are all outraged that the punishment is something that is equal to a traffic accident. We are all aware of that," said Natarajan.
他说：“我们已经组建了一个获得授权的部长小组，研究是否需要改变法律。我们都很愤怒判决结果就像一起交通事故的处理结果。我们都意识到了。”
Law Minister Veerappa Moily says India does not have a law to deal with a mass disaster. He has spoken of the need for fast-track courts for such cases and a specific law for such mishaps.
司法部长维拉帕·莫伊利说印度没有关于处理巨大灾害的法律。他提出印度需要针对此类案件成立快速立法法院并出台特定法律。
What exactly caused the gas leak is still unclear. Union Carbide blamed it on sabotage by a disgruntled employee. The prosecution argued that it was caused by a design defect in the plant and negligent operational practices. Critics have charged that the company got away with just paying $470 million in compensation.
联合碳化公司把责任归咎于一名员工因对公司不满而故意破坏。检查机关认为工厂设备的设计缺陷和管理人员的玩忽职守导致灾难发生。批评人士谴责公司仅靠支付4亿7千万美元的赔偿金就想了事。
The government has responded by saying the case against the American head of Union Carbide at the time of the leak is still open. Warren Anderson faces manslaughter charges in India, but the United States has rejected efforts to extradite him.
政府回应说，对毒气泄漏期间联合碳化公司美国高管的起诉仍在进行当中。沃伦·安德森面临印度政府对他的杀人指控，但美国拒绝为引渡沃伦做出努力。
Acknowledging the huge anger among the victims and survivors of the disaster, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh state, where Bhopal is located, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, promises to appeal the verdict.
博帕尔所在地中央邦的首席部长希夫拉吉·辛格·乔汉承认灾难的受害者和幸存者对判决结果感到强烈不满，他承诺将对判决结果提起上诉。
He says the state government will go to a higher court to get a tougher sentence and secure justice for the victims.
他说，联邦政府会向更高一级法院起诉，要求加重量刑，为受害者谋取公平公正。
Survivors of the tragedy and activists fear that such an appeal is again likely to get entangled in India's slow moving judicial system. However, they are not giving up their quest for justice.
悲剧的幸存者和社会活动人士担心此次上诉会再次同印度拖拉的司法体制纠缠不清。但他们并不打算放弃对公平公正的追求。
Satinath Sarangi, a prominent activist working with the victims of the gas leak, says the fight could be led by the generation born in the aftermath of the disaster.
著名社会活动人士萨提纳斯·萨朗吉一直努力为毒气泄漏事件的受害者争取权益。他说，灾后出生那一代人可能会领导大家继续奋斗下去。
"As the young people in Bhopal, the children of survivors have said, that now they will take it along and they will fight till complete justice is done," said Sarangi.
他说：“就像博帕尔的年轻人、幸存者的子女们说的那样，从这刻起他们将会担起重任，抗争到底，直到取得最终的公平公正。”
Activists and many politicians say it is important for India to strengthen laws and systems to handle any future mishap, because many foreign corporations are establishing plants and factories in the country to benefit from its booming economy.
社会活动人士和许多政治家说，加强法律和体制建设以备未来处理任何灾害之需对印度来说非常重要，因为许多外国公司正纷纷在印度建厂，想从印度蓬勃发展的经济中获利。
They are also urging the government to look closely at proposed legislation which would cap the liabilities of foreign companies planning to establish civil nuclear plants in India to $110 million.
他们同时敦促政府详细审查立法提案，从而将那些计划在印度建民用核电厂的外国公司的负债控制在1亿1千万美元。
Critics and opposition parties say the government must draw lessons from the Bhopal disaster and modify the controversial Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill to ensure that India will be able to hold private companies responsible for any mishap. The government says there is no connection between the two issues.
批评人士和反对党称政府必须要从博帕尔惨案中吸取教训，修改颇受争议的“核损害民事责任法案”，确保私营公司能对任何灾害负责。而政府则表示，两件事之间没有联系。 |