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    IOC defends Dow, IOA doesn't agree

    By Indo Asian News Service | IANS India Private Limited – Thu 16 Feb, 2012

    New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) urged the government Thursday to intervene after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) refused to drop Dow Chemicals as a London Olympics sponsor.

    IOA acting president Malhotra said he was not convinced by IOC's argument that Dow was not to blame for the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster.

    "We want IOC (to) understand and appreciate the feelings and sentiments of the victims and drop Dow as sponsors," he said in a statement here.

    Malhotra asked the Indian government to come out with a clear stand on the issue. He complained that the government had not responded yet to a letter from IOA on the issue.

    Malhotra's remarks followed IOA's refusal to accede to mounting calls that Dow must be kept out of the Olympics.

    IOA has opposed Dow Chemicals as one of the sponsors of the London Olympics because of its ownership of Union Carbide, from whose pesticide plant in Bhopal a lethal gas leak killed thousands Dec 2-3, 1984.

    IOA had asked the IOC and London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) to withdraw Dow as a sponsor.

    But IOC told IOA that its relationship with Dow Chemicals was over 30 years old, and "we were aware of the Bhopal tragedy when discussing the partnership with Dow".

    In a letter to Malhotra, IOC chief Jacques Rogge said: "IOC recognizes that the Bhopal tragedy in 1984 was horrific event for India and the world. The Olympic Movement sympathizes with the grief of the victims' families and regrets the ongoing suffering people face.

    "The IOC and LOCOG were aware of the Bhopal tragedy when discussing the partnership with Dow. Dow had no connection with the Bhopal tragedy.

    "Dow did not have any ownership stake in Union Carbide until 16 years after the accident and 12 years after the $470 million compensation agreement was approved by the Indian Supreme Court.

    "The court has upheld this agreement twice since then, in 1991 and 2007.

    "We understand this is being reviewed yet a third time by the India Supreme Court and we are aware of Dow's position in this mater, and of the sensitivities of all parties.

    "We only enter into partnerships with organisations that we believe work in accordance with the values of the Olympic Movement...

    "We do hope the IOA is recognizing this, while we appreciate the difficult situation you are facing in your country."

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    14 comments

    • mohamed
      mohamed  •  Chennai, Tamil Nadu  •  3 months ago
      First this is the great mistake of our government. Soon after the disaster ( after 3 days ) Union carbide cheif flown to US with our Govt support.....we cant blame other idiots ..... Supreme court should not allow DOW to take over the UC... wen it happened we simply watches .... all the higher offical ( Indains ) belonging to the UC got just only 2 yrs of imprisonment just for killing 10000+ indians................... Great Law
      • Raja
        Raja 3 months ago
        You are right. There is no value for Indian lives for Indians themselves. Then, how can foreigners value our lives?

        By the time of the great tragedy, the chairman of the company: Father of present md of famous Indian automobile conglomerate. He didn't care about Indian lives, gone with his own way, made big fortunes, ......
      • Aseem
        Aseem 3 months ago
        Mohamed, are you sure the number of persons killed is 10000? Next, it was an accident. Not a murder. Union Carbide officers did not take an AK-47 and shot people on streets like Kasab did. You are so vocal about Union Carbide. Why are you not so vocal about kasab? Tell me what is your opinion about kasab? Did you even once denounce it? Did you even once denounce various acts of terror unleashed on Inidan territory? I am sure the answer is no. You muslims are most vocal in pointing others' faults. But never once you admit your own. I am not supporting Union Carbide but they spent astronomical sum on compensation. It is different matter that that money was pocketed by Indian middlemen. Now why are you silent about these middlemen? Also, Bhopal was always in the limelight but that is not the only accident that happened in India. Every year hundreds of workers get killed in other factories. How come there is no hue and cry about these? And as for Dow, they are present owners who purchased from UC. They may still bear financial liability but not moral. How is Dow responsible for UC's misdeeds? If I drive a car over someone and kill and sell the car to you and And lastly, I am neither supporter of Dow nor Olympic Committee. I would be very happy if we boycott Olympic where we will not win anything anyway.
      • senior citizen
        senior citizen 3 months ago
        yu are correct we indians are cowards how the then govt allowed the chief exe to escape will any other nation allow this what a shame we must finfd who did that and take action on any govt offivials .our lives are of no value for these great officials but they value those foreign s per haps they might have recd a fantastic sum in return fin out the truth cbi inquiry to be done and book them ?
    • senior citizen
      senior citizen  •  Chennai, Tamil Nadu  •  3 months ago
      no one can forget this human tragedy bec of negligence on the prt if the officials of union carbide dow they should have compensated the victims even with out asking why all courts such deadly chemicals even with all precautions can leak natural disastetrs can cause here after we dont want to manufacture this deadly for any purpose its chief escaped from india can this happen iin other placeour indians are such cowards govt has no courageto punish even the killers have not been executd mercy petition pending no mercy for any killers govt to knoew how much sufferinf the victims and their family have undergone why mercy ?even almight will not pardon have they not executed sadam husain in iraq bhutto etc killers no mercy are we cowards ?
    • kartik
      kartik  •  Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh  •  3 months ago
      its really very pity that in India the value of human life is nothing......imagine if this had happened in any so called developed countries, the scenario w'd have been different....not to speak of getting justice for the victims, we are not able to make the world even realize that who the real culprit is......
      • Sankara
        Sankara 3 months ago
        My sympathies are with you dear friend. What prevented Indian govt to compensate liberally. Our politicians are exploiting your emotions.
    • N X
      N X  •  New York, United States  •  3 months ago
      IOA should state clearly that India is not imporessed by these ownership loopholes. It is an eyewash to state that Dow did not buy Union Carbide till 16 years later. We are not asking to bring the Dow of 16 years before the purchase to pay for their crimes. We are asking the Dow as of now after the purchase to assume liability.

      If Union Carbide existed independently it could certainly be brought back to court for a retrial.

      There is no reason why just because some shares changed hands that this cannot happen.
    • gujarati
      gujarati  •  3 months ago
      i dont get peoples anger on dow, I respect human life and it was terrible tragedy, but as it says Dow bought union carbide after 16 long years and they also paid 470 million, It was nature of our corrupt politician that people did not get justice not because of dow. Some one can't blame you for murder that happened in house before you bought the house. And if so much rage that why are we allowing any dow products in india, one of dows leading market is india.
    • kundroo
      kundroo  •  Bangalore, Karnataka  •  3 months ago
      der no sense in beating d bush now. our govt our politicians n IOA all r ash hulls. after 27 yrs also d affected people havent fully got d compensation n settled down. wat was govt n IOA doing all des yrs....
    • mulla nasruddin
      mulla nasruddin  •  2 months ago
      If it is so.... for the sake of our national pride and brothers and sisters who perished because of corporate greed...bycott olympic. Jai Hind
    • Sankara
      Sankara  •  Chennai, Tamil Nadu  •  3 months ago
      What about Sathyam debacle. Can we hold new owner liable for the past. financially yes but cannot say so morally. Keep your mind cool we Indians always give knee jerk reactions and get carried away. Riots after assassaninations of our leaders or chaos after even natural deaths of our cinema heroes. WE react and then judge. PITY.
      • Raja
        Raja 3 months ago
        For your information:
        The father of the present owner of Satyam was the chairman of UC during the great tragedy!
      • Aseem
        Aseem 3 months ago
        Sankara, You are million per cent right. If only more and more Indians were like you, India would have been a better place to live. But no we are steeped in jingosim, hypocricy. We are loudest people in this world. We behave like we have copyright over words like moral, ethics, values, culture etc. As though we are the most honest and upright people on this planet. False sense of patriotism is ingrained in us. We are always quick to jump to conclusion without ascertaining facts. If an Indian is assaulted abroad then that country must be attacked. No attempt is made to ascertain whose fault it was. Always pointing finger at others. As though there is no corruption crime racism in India. We are pathetic people. We have to learn some politeness, culture and manners from Japanese, who even in the face of earthquake were smiling and queueing up patiently for food without pushing, argueing, fighting.
    • Rajesh
      Rajesh  •  Bhubaneswar, Orissa  •  3 months ago
      Thousand victims of Bhopal gas tragedy were our brothers and sisters not related to IOC or anybody else. We should protest this London olympics at any cost.
      • Aseem
        Aseem 3 months ago
        Rajesh, aap bahut hi mahan ho. Referring to victims of Bhopal gas as your brothers and sisters. I am sure Bhubneswar must be a place where there are no hungry homeless shelterless people . You must have taken care of your "brothers and sisters" in Bhubneswar. Please spare me this bullshit. I know how we Indians behave. Tell about our greatness to some hippy innocent foreigners. Not to someone like me who is born and brought up in this country. We are the nation of greedy slimey wolves. When I hear anyone refer to strangers as brothers and sisters it reminds me of vote-begging politicians. Are you one, too? If not then do not try to impress me or others. Sure, we all do feel bad about such mishaps but let us not express excess pretentious concern to impress others. In other words, duniya ko ye batana ki hum kitne mahan hain. Khud ko mahan kabhi nahi kahna chahiye. mahan wo hota hai jise doosre mahan kahte hain.
      • Rajesh
        Rajesh 3 months ago
        Aseemji you are very politically emotional.Referring to homeless, hungry brothers and sister, I don't want to clarify you. Yes, we are the responsible for their cause. If we are using more thing than requirement just like more than one pair shoes, two pairs dresses etc., then we are responsible. Are not we. But Mr. Aseem, your version smells like our unfriendly foreigners like Pakistanis or Banglades etc..Please care, those, who advocates for any type of anti national elements are enemies of Hindustan.
    • anand
      anand  •  New Delhi, Delhi  •  3 months ago
      If IOA really want to oppose to IOC if they continue with DOW better dont send Indian team to London Olympic and show the spine...plz dont play with the emotion of Indian People.
    • Aseem
      Aseem  •  3 months ago
      The whole isssue is so stupid. The real culprit Union Carbide is out of picture. Dow bought UC 16 after Bhopal disaster. Then how is Dow responsible? We know only to make noise without applying any reason. As for the Indo-phile British lady who resigned in support of Bhopal, she will know real India when she gets assaulted/raped on a local train in India.
    • soumitra b
      soumitra b  •  Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh  •  3 months ago
      We should quit olympics for reasons other than those mentioned here ! Our politicians and "netas" have very successfully been able to choke sports (and other affairs too, including the entire country !), so much so that such a large country of such able people cannot produce a handful of persons who can put up some show in olympics (barring a few stray cases).
      As for the Bhopal tragedy, the way I look at it is, there will be industries. How you control safety and pollution is upto you. This sort of tragedy (Bhopal) could have happened only in India, where by paying to the controlling body one can compromise a lot on safety & pollution. If you give such an opportunity, how much blame can you put on an industry to make use of it ?
      Moreover, its been over a quarter of a century since the disaster, have we stopped to think how much our own governments are to be blamed for the aftermath ?
      And what about the victims ? Is DOW the only body to be blamed for improper compensations and clean up of the toxic wastes etc. and an attempt to bring back to normal the life of those affected ?
      If you have the guts or the will to protest, then start at home please.....
    • senior citizen
      senior citizen  •  Chennai, Tamil Nadu  •  3 months ago
      better india dont participate in olypic boycott we must have the guts to talk boldly let them not think india is a nation of cowards show yur boldm]ness are we indians not ashamed to fall at others legs when biritish ruled over india for 2 centuries viceroys appointed by the kings and queens designate them as lords like lord curzo etc are they lords they came begging to stasrr a business fibnally they rulesd and we will become slaves only almighty id the lord not these humans with no heart they crushed india finally cut ibndia into 2 pcs see the perinial problem we have pakistan was their brain child to teach indians a lesson a permaneny enemy was in the horizon so now atleast show yur toughness kudos india
    • Sankara
      Sankara  •  Chennai, Tamil Nadu  •  3 months ago
      It is toally idiotic to blame the present owner of UC. No doubt they inherit the assets and liabilities of UC from the financial balance sheet. Moral balance sheet cannot be inherited. Dow is liable to pay compensation to Bhopal victims and it is a matter already in court. Indian Olympic records are pathetic. Hypocricy is way of life in India. This is just an excuse by Indian Olympic committee. Indian olympic committee should not send anybody to London Olympics if they are really concerned. I have called their bluff. This drama is only to put on record that India has protested. India will shamelessly send their large contingent of players and officers (out numbering the candidates) to LO and catch cold and nothing else.
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