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No boycott of Olympics but will protest against Dow:
India
Thursday December 15, 2011 07:37:36 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi: The Indian
Olympic Association (IOA) Thursday decided not to boycott the 2012
London Olympics but it will lodge a strong protest with the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) over Dow Chemicals
sponsoring the mega sports event.
The victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy have been demanding that
India should skip the Olympics due to the involvement of Dow
Chemicals, which bought the tainted Union Carbide blamed for the
1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
The leakage of tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas on the night
of Dec 2-3, 1984, from the Union Carbide's pesticides plant killed
several thousand people besides affecting hundreds of thousands of
people. Government records show 5,295 deaths, besides 4,902 with
permanent disability, 35,455 with temporary disability and 527,894
with minor injuries. Union Carbide was later bought by Dow
Chemicals.
The sports ministry, in a letter Wednesday, asked the IOA to raise
a strong protest with the IOC over the issue of Dow's association
with the Olympic movement.
The executive body of the IOA during its two-day AGM that started
here Thursday decided to lodge a strong protest over the tainted
Dow Chemicals sponsoring the mega event.
"The executive committee today decided that it would raise a
strong protest with the IOC. We will write a strong letter to the
IOC conveying them the sentiments of the Indian people on the
victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy," a top member of the executive
committee told IANS.
The executive committee also felt that it would be unfair to
boycott the event.
"The IOA is not in favour of boycotting the Olympics since it
would be unfair on the athletes and it would also go against the
spirit of the Olympic movement," the official said.
IOA's acting president V.K. Malhotra had also demanded removal of
Dow as an Olympic sponsor.
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