Indian Olympic Association threatening to boycott London 2012 - report
The Indian Olympic Association is threatening a boycott of the London 2012 Games in protest against a sponsorship deal with Dow Chemical.
Dow Chemical bought Union Carbide Corporation, whose former Indian subsidiary ran the doomed Bhopal plant, in 2001. A chemical leak from the complex killed 5,000 people in 1984.
The company, embroiled in a compensation wrangle over Bhopal, said the USD 470 million compensation settlement reached by Union Carbide in 1989 was final. On average the families of those who died received roughly 1,400 pounds.
Britain's The Daily Telegaph reported that current and former India athletes are organising a petition against the 2012 games.
"Many Olympic athletes have expressed concern about it and they are upset that Dow is sponsoring the London Olympics and they want to boycott," V.K. Malhotra, a senior official with Indian Olympic Association, was quoted in the report.
The London Olympics organisers' move to name controversial Dow Chemical Company 'with the blood of Bhopal on its hands' as a sponsor of the 2012 Games also sparked outrage amongst campaigners fighting for justice.
"Our terrible legacy is by no means over. Our children are still suffering," the newspaper report from August this year quoted them as saying.
They are also urging widespread protests, including a 'Bhopal Olympics' involving disabled children. The International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal has also urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make a formal complaint to his British counterpart David Cameron.
"By dealing with a corporation like Dow, which has the blood of Bhopal on its hands, the reputation of the London Games and its legacy will be tarnished," Spokeswoman Rachna Dhingra said.
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