"Vindicated" India renews call for London to drop Dow

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Friday renewed its demand that London 2012 terminates itssponsorship deal with Dow Chemicals, feeling vindicated by the resignation of a Games watchdog panel member over the tie-up.

Meredith Alexander quit the Commission for a Sustainable London2012 on Wednesday, saying she did not want to be part of a body that "became an apologist" for Dow Chemicals, the U.S. firm linked to India's 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.

Meredith Alexander, former member of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, speaks to a reporter at the headquarters of Amnesty International in London January 25, 2012. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

Dow bought the Bhopal plant owner Union Carbide in 1999.

Alexander said a number of other panel members were also "deeply disturbed" by the company's sponsorship of a temporary decorative wrap around London's Olympic Stadium.

Her resignation prompted IOA chief Vijay Kumar Malhotra to send a second letter to International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge exactly six months before the Games, saying there was no need to carry "this toxic legacy."

"...the resignation of Ms Meredith Alexander from the Games Ethics Committee - the Commission for Sustainable London 2012 - has vindicated IOA's stand of opposing Dow's sponsorship," Malhotra wrote in his letter, copies of which were distributed to Indian media.

"I am sure that you are well aware of the growing opposition to this sponsorship the world over with NGOs (non-governmental organisations), intellectuals like Noam Chomsky, Members of British Parliament and civil society openly coming out against it.

"On behalf of the IOA I again urge you to take steps to remove Dow as sponsor and settle the matter as early as possible," Malhotra added.

Activists say 25,000 people died in the years that followed the gas leak at a pesticides factory in the central Indian city of Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.

Campaigners have demanded Dow boosts a 1989 compensation package for those affected by the disaster.

Dow, also an IOC worldwide partner, has denied any responsibility for the accident and says Union Carbide had settled its liabilities with the Indian government.

A number of former Olympians have slammed the London sponsorship deal while Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has urged the government to boycott the Games over the issue.

However, Malhotra has ruled out the possibility.

Malhotra said he has sent a copy of his letter to London Games chief Sebastian Coe as well, while also conveying the IOA's position to the British High Commissioner in India last week.

Games watchdog member quits over Dow deal

A member of the body that oversees the sustainability of the London Olympics has resigned in protest at a sponsorship deal with Dow Chemical because of the American company's ties to the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster that killed thousands in India.

The Games' organisers chose Dow to make the hundreds of plastic panels that will decorate the outside of the main stadium in a contract that has angered many Indians, including current and former Olympic athletes.

Activists say 25,000 people died in the years that followed the gas leak at a pesticides factory in the central Indian city of Bhopal. Dow bought the plant's owner in 1999 and campaigners have demanded that it boosts a 1989 compensation package for those affected by the disaster.

Meredith Alexander, who sat on the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012, said she had decided to quit the independent body because she "didn't want to be party to a defence of Dow."

"People should be free to enjoy London 2012 without this toxic legacy on their conscience," she said in a statement released by rights group Amnesty International, which has supported her cause.

"It is appalling that 27 years on, the site has still not been cleaned up and thousands upon thousands of people are still suffering."

Meredith Alexander, former member of the
Commission for a Sustainable London 2012

No one at the Olympics organising body could immediately be reached for comment. Dow has denied any responsibility for the accident and says the former owner, Union Carbide, had settled its liabilities with the Indian government.

Amnesty said the Games' organisers should admit they were wrong in awarding the contract to Dow, who are also a worldwide partner of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

"This high profile resignation means the London 2012 organisers can no longer ignore human rights concerns about Dow, a company that has refused to meet its responsibilities in relation to the victims of Bhopal," Amnesty's Seema Joshi said in a statement.