[IMC Bombay] Bhopal Victims Oppose Dow's Presence at WSSD

[PUKAR @ IndyMedia]

X-Sender: nity@del3.vsnl.net.in
Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2002 03:51:09 -0700
To: india-ej@indialists.org, remember-bhopal@lists.essential.org
From: "(Nity)anand Jayaraman" <nity68@vsnl.com>
Subject: Bhopal Victims Oppose Dow's Presence at WSSD
Cc: kshekhar@bol.net.in, sanjayb@hotpop.com

>PLEASE NOTE CORRECT PHONE NUMBER
>MEDIA ADVISORY                                          AUGUST 25, 2002
>
>Contact:  Amit Srivastava, CorpWatch
>
>+27 (0)72 477 2267 (Johannesburg)
>
>VICTIMS OPPOSE DOW CHEMICAL'S PRESENCE AT WSSD
>
>"DON'T LET DOW GREENWASH THE WORST CORPORATE CRIME IN HISTORY"
>
>WHAT:  A survivor of the worst industrial disaster in historythe gas 
>leak from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India in 1984 that 
>killed thousandswill be holding 2 press conferences along with 
>Bhopal activists in Johannesburg on Tuesday, August 27.  This is 
>part of a Day of Action on Bhopal to bring attention to Dow 
>Chemical's pending liabilities of the gas disaster as well as oppose 
>Dow Chemical's role in defining sustainable development.  Dow 
>refuses to accept the liabilities it has inherited following its 
>merger with Union Carbide in February 2001, making it the largest 
>chemical corporation in the world.  William Stavropoulos, president 
>of Dow Chemical, is in Johannesburg as part of the executive 
>committee of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
>
>The Day of Action on Bhopal will include a hunger strike by hundreds 
>of people in Johannesburg, wearing a red armband to express 
>solidarity, and a photo exhibition organized by Greenpeace 
>International.  Over 800 people from 10 countries are currently part 
>of a worldwide hunger strike in support of the campaign for justice 
>in Bhopal (www.bhopal.net).
>
>In December 1984, lethal gases leaked from Union Carbide's pesticide 
>factory in Bhopal killing upwards of 8,000 people within three days. 
>The current death toll is 20,000 and rising.  Over 150,000 remain 
>chronically ill from exposure related illnesses, and 20,000 people 
>in the vicinity of the abandoned factory are today forced to drink 
>water contaminated with deadly chemicals recklessly dumped by the 
>company.  Tens of thousands of children are born with congenital 
>malformations.  Current official figures show that more than 30 
>people are dying from exposure related illnesses every month.  Union 
>Carbide, and Warren Anderson, its former chairman and prime accused, 
>charged with homicide and other serious offences are still 
>absconding from justice from the ongoing criminal case in India.
>
>WHERE & WHEN:  11 am NASREC, Breakaway Room 3   Aug 27
>7 pm  SANDTON Mall, Fountain Court      Aug 27
>WHO:  Bhopal representatives and global supporters including Vandana 
>Shiva, Dennis Brutus, Virginia Setshedi and representatives of 
>Greenpeace International.
>
>WHY:  "Dow Chemical has no business talking sustainable development 
>because it continues to poison and refuses much needed medical care 
>in Bhopal," said Satinath Sarangi, one of the representatives from 
>Bhopal.  "Dow and other companies have hijacked the Earth Summit, 
>and without a binding regulatory framework for corporations, we will 
>have many more Bhopals," said Mrs. Rashida Bee, a survivor of the 
>gas disaster, currently in Johannesburg.
>
>==================================
>Amit Srivastava
>International Programs Coordinator
>CorpWatch
>P.O. Box 29344, San Francisco, CA 94129, USA
>Tel: 1 415 561 6472  Fax: 1 415 561 6493
>Email: amit@corpwatch.org
>Web: http://www.corpwatch.org
>          http://www.CorpWatchIndia.org
>==================================
>CorpWatch -- "Holding Corporations Accountable Locally & Globally"
_____

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