Bhopal activists bringing prison jumpsuits to Midland

 By Kathie Marchlewski, Midland Daily News
11/27/2006

Dow Chemical Co. officials this week can expect visits -- and orange prison jumpsuits -- from students wanting the company to take responsibility for the largest industrial accident in history 22 years ago.

Campaign for Justice in Bhopal members are mobilizing for the Dec. 2 anniversary of the Bhopal, India industrial catastrophe at a former Union Carbide plant. The incident killed thousands of plant neighborhood residents in India in 1984, and residents there still are suffering from related health effects.

"22,000 people are dead and thousands continue to die. Yet, Dow wants to deny all responsibility and have the Indian government pay the millions of dollars needed to clean up their mess in Bhopal," said Yogesh Simmhan of Association for India's Development, Bloomington Chapter. "This company put the people in harm's way and this company should pay for cleanup and face criminal charges for these deaths."

Dow has been the target of pressure to resolve problems associated with the disaster since it bought Union Carbide in 2001 -- 16 years after the tragedy. The company maintains that it did not inherit liability in the matter, and that all claims against Union Carbide were settled with the Indian government in 1989. Union Carbide paid $470 million and continued medical and economic aid in later years.

"Bhopal was a terrible tragedy that none of us will ever forget and Dow's responsibility -- along with the rest of the industry -- is to do everything we can to make sure something like this never happens again and to continue to drive industry performance improvements," said Dow spokesman Scot Wheeler.

But Bhopalis and their supporters say Dow is to blame for ongoing, daily deaths in Bhopal because it refuses to clean up the disaster site and provide adequate care to the survivors. Union Carbide also still faces criminal charges in India related to the incident. The orange jump suits to be delivered in Midland are a reminder of those charges.

"Dow's 2001 purchase of Union Carbide transferred legal liability and moral culpability for the cleanup of contaminated waste in Bhopal to Dow," said Ryan Bodanyi, Students for Bhopal U.S. coordinator. "Carbide put a time bomb in the middle of a crowded city and called it an accident when it went off. Changing their name does not remove their guilt nor their liabilities."

Dow officials say the accusations and demands are misguided. "Those planning the protests are well aware that Dow never owned or operated the plant or had any connection with the facility or the unfortunate tragedy that occurred," Wheeler said. "Their concerns need to be raised with the central government in India and the state government of Madhya Pradesh who have the authority and are in a position to resolve this situation. Any responsibility for further remediation of the Bhopal site rests with them."

The week's visit to Midland will not be the first by Bhopali citizen advocates. Midland Police Chief Jim St. Louis said the department will work with Dow security to ensure that the protests are not problematic.

Past visits to executive homes --activists have delivered contaminated drinking water to Dow officials in recent years and once arrived at a holiday party at the home of former Dow CEO Mike Parker -- have been peaceful.

"Since I've been here, we've never had a confrontation with them (protesters)," St. Louis said. "They have been very cooperative. When we've asked them to leave, they did."

Other commemorative activities will begin Friday when Amnesty International and Students for Bhopal members will stage a funeral procession in front of the Indian Consulate in New York City.

Saturday is an international day of action called by disaster survivors, who will burn effigies of Dow's leadership and light candles to remember their lost family members. Groups in Austin, Boston, Bloomington, Ind. and San Diego will re-enact funeral marches, In other cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Middletown, Conn., and Princeton, N.J., there will be candlelight vigils and film screenings.

On Dec. 6, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor students will march to the campus' Dow Chemical building to close the week's activities.

For more information on Bhopal-related activities, visit  www.studentsforbhopal.org . For more information on Dow and Union Carbide's response, visit www.unioncarbide.com/bhopal .

©Midland Daily News 2006

For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.