Two Years Later, Murder Charges for Rana Plaza Tragedy, But Justice Elusive

[polly7]

Rana Plaza building owner and family, as well as government officials, among those facing charges

bySarah Lazare, staff writer

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The collapsed Rana Plaza building near Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2013. (Photo: Abir Abdullah/European Pressphoto Agency)

Bangladeshi police on Monday formally filed murder charges against 41 people for the Rana Plaza factory collapse over two years ago that killed 1,138 workers—most of them women—in what is is believed to be the worst single tragedy in the history of the world's garment industry.

Among those charged are building owner Sohel Rana, his parents, owners of other nearby factories, and government officials. If they are found guilty, the defendants could face the death penalty.

However, officials from the numerous Western retail corporations that did business with the factory—including Walmart, The Children’s Place, Benetton, Zara, and Mango—were not named among those facing charges.

On April 24, 2013, workers were forced by their employers to enter the Rana Plaza factory, located in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka, despite expressing concern about visible cracks in the walls. The subsequent collapse and tragedy sparked record worker protests in Bangladesh and solidarity demonstrations across the world.

"But filing charges is just the first step," Bajaj continued. "Now the government has to hold fair and speedy trials for these 41 people. It also needs to do more to help the victims of Rana Plaza. Many victims or their surviving families have not received all of the compensation they are owed. That is in part because Western clothing companies have not contributed enough money to a compensation fund that is overseen by the International Labor Organization."

Full article: http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/06/01/two-years-later-murder-charges-rana-plaza-tragedy-justice-elusive

[Judi Lynn]

1. "Walmart, The Children’s Place, Benetton" are connected to this place.

This situation should NOT do their reputations any good, I would hope.

Just get the money, who cares who gets hurt, or worse. So sad.

[polly7]

2. I honestly don't think Walmart cares about its reputation,

and how many of their millions/billions? of customers really even concern themselves with who actually makes and dies for their stuff. Smaller retailers might suffer (I hope they do learn from it), but Walmart seems to be able to get away with anything. I do my best to spread the word though - and I know you probably do too.

It is so sad.