May 15, 2008
Dow Investors Request SEC Investigation on Lack of Disclosure of Bhopal Liabilities
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
For immediate release
NEW DELHI, 15 May, 2008 -- Prompted by the release of an internal PMO note that cites a Law Ministry opinion that Dow Chemical will inherit Union Carbide's potential liabilities in Bhopal, eight US-based shareholders have signed a complaint to the US Securities and Exchange Commission against Dow for non-disclosure of the risks it faces in India. Sanford Lewis, a Boston-based attorney for the investors who filed the complaint with the SEC today stated, "These documents highlight a concern that Dow has failed to disclose significant risks to its investments in India. Dow has stated repeatedly it has no liability for remediation of the Bhopal site, yet the document released by the Indian government tells a different story." The letter from investors seeks and SEC investigation and any appropriate enforcement action.
Dow maintains that all Bhopal liabilities were settled under the 1989 settlement, and that Dow will not be affected by any of the Bhopal liabilities that could stick to Union Carbide. This, despite the fact that at the time of acquisition, Union Carbide was a proclaimed absconder from India for failing to appear in court to face trial on charges of "culpable homicide not amounting to murder."
Despite economic compulsions and strategic decisions by the company that require Dow to have a major manufacturing and marketing presence in India, the company has proceeded to invest in India with caution. The company has made it clear to the Government that its investments in India can be made only if the legal-overhang of Bhopal liabilities is removed, and if its investments can be protected from legal action over the Bhopal controversy.
The documents released on May 12 include an internal briefing note from the Prime Minister's office. Dated 7 February, 2008, the note states:
In 2005, Dow began intense lobbying for legal immunity against Carbide's liabilities prompted by a May 2005 application by the Ministry of Chemicals in a case relating to toxic waste clean-up in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The application sought Rs.100 crores ($25 million) from Dow towards clean-up costs. Dow claims that its 100 percent subsidiary, Union Carbide, is a separate legal entity with its own system of liability management, and that Dow has inherited only assets and not Carbide's liabilities.
Responding to requests from Dow and its allies, the Prime Minister instructed the Chemicals Ministry to prepare a note on Dow's legal liabilities in consultation with the Law Ministry. While the actual note prepared by Chemical and Law Ministries is not available, the internal briefing note prepared by PMO director Shaleen Kabra dismisses any possibility for immunity: "[The Law Ministry] has categorically stated that in view of the pendency of Writ Petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the legal position stated above, it cannot also be said that the investment proposed to be made by the Dow Chemicals will be immune from the orders of the Court," the note observes.
For more information, contact: Rachna Dhingra: 9717516005.
Posted by tim at 02:04 PM | Comments (0)
May 14, 2008
Dow Investors Request SEC Investigation on Lack of Dow Disclosure
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
INDIAN GOVERNMENT’S “SMOKING GUN” MEMORANDUM REVEALS: PURPORTED $1 BILLION DOW CHEMICAL INVESTMENT IN INDIA WOULD BE SUBJECT TO ANY LIABILITIES FOR CONTINUED BHOPAL SOIL AND WATER CONTAMINATION
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Dow CEO’s Request for Liability Shield Appears Rebuffed
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Washington, DC – A group of investors wrote to the Securities and Exchange Commission to request an investigation of the Dow Chemical’s failure to disclose current impediments to a purported $1 billion investment in India.
A "smoking gun" document obtained last week through a public records request shows that the Indian government’s Law Ministry has advised the Government that investments by Dow Chemical in India are not immune from court orders, particularly in the matter regarding environmental contamination pending in a state High Court. The documents confirm that the Indian government is NOT in a position to waive those potential liabilities, despite a prior request from Dow CEO Andrew Liveris for the government of India to do so.
Dow Chemical merged with Union Carbide Corporation, the company that owned the Bhopal plant at the time of the contamination and the 1984 Gas Leak, in 2001. Since then, civil cases for environmental contamination cleanup and damages to victims of the contamination have been filed against Dow. In 2005, the Indian Ministry of Chemicals approached the Court to direct Dow to deposit $22 million towards clean-up costs for toxic waste remediation in Bhopal. A criminal case for the 1984 disaster is pending against Dow subsidiary Union Carbide, where the latter has been proclaimed “absconder” for failure to appear in the case.
An internal document from the Prime Minister’s office dated February 2, 2008 notes that Dow has proposed $1 billion in investments in India and that the Ministry of Law “has categorically stated… it cannot …be said that the investment proposed to be made by the Dow Chemicals will be immune from orders of the Court.”
The document also notes, "Irrespective of the manner in which [Union Carbide Corporation] has merged or has been acquired by Dow Chemicals, if there is any legal liability, it would have to be borne by Dow Chemicals." The document was obtained via the Indian Right to Information Act by survivors of the Bhopal Chemical Disaster on Thursday, May 8th from the Indian Prime Minister’s Office.
Sanford Lewis, attorney for the investors who filed a complaint with the SEC today stated, “These documents highlight a concern that Dow has failed to disclose significant risks to its investments in India. Dow has stated repeatedly it has no liability for remediation of the Bhopal site, yet the document released by the Indian government tells a different story.” The letter from investors seeks and SEC investigation and any appropriate enforcement action.
Last year, it came to light that Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris wrote to India’s US Ambassador seeking assurance that Dow investments would not be subject to liability for issues remaining in Bhopal. However the internal Prime Minister document appears to provide the answer – that no release of such liabilities would be forthcoming.
In addition to the Prime Minister’s document, there is other evidence of impediments to Dow’s ability to invest and do business in India due to its Bhopal legacy issues. “Should Dow be Allowed to do Business in India?” Dow’s efforts to build a research and development center outside of Bombay have been stymied for nearly 5 months by local groups who have occupied the roads to Dow’s construction site. “Pune Protests Dow Research Facility”. The villagers cite Dow’s treatment of Bhopal as one of the reasons for the blockade. Six Dow offices around India were raided by the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation after Dow admitted to bribing Indian officials from 1996 to 2001. “CBI Raids Dow Chemical’s Indian Subsidiary for Graft.” Four of the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) refused to allow Dow Chemical to recruit on their campuses, and two IITs returned Dow’s sponsorship funds because of alumni, faculty and student objections to Dow’s conduct vis a vis the Bhopal survivors: “IITs, academics snub Dow for Bhopal tragedy link”.
Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal Chemical Disaster and toxic water contamination from the former Carbide factory site are camped out in New Delhi demanding that Dow Chemical’s pesticides registered via bribery be de-registered, its deal with Reliance for purchase of a Carbide technology be scuttled, and that Carbide be extradited to the Indian Criminal Court from which it is absconding. The 1984 Bhopal Chemical Disaster has killed more than 23,000 people in the past 24 years according to the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal. Multi-generational chronic health effects from gas exposure and contaminated water consumed by 25,000 daily, leads to illness and birth defects, the survivors say.
The investors’ letter to the SEC comes the day before Dow Chemical’s April 15 annual general meeting on. Dow Chemical investors signing the letter to the SEC include Trillium Asset Management, Sisters of Mercy, Regional Community of Detroit, Adrian Dominican Sisters, Newground Social Investment, Harrington Investments, American Baptist Home Mission Society, Trinity Health, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia and Amnesty International, USA. Calvert Asset Management Company also signed the letter. A copy of the SEC letter and backup documentation is available via email request to Attorney Sanford Lewis, sanfordlewis'at'strategiccounsel.net.
More Information:
Sanford Lewis 413 549-7333 sanfordlewis'at'strategiccounsel.net
Aquene Freechild, 617-378-2579 , afreechild'at'environmentalhealthfund.org
Posted by tim at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)
INDIA’S LAW MINISTRY: DOW LIABLE FOR BHOPAL TRAGEDY
New questions of Dow corporate misconduct; pressure on Dow for Bhopal clean up
For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 *Documents and photos available upon request
CONTACTS: Tony Millard, ICJB Spokesperson, (708)-606-8142, aj.millard'at'gmail.com
Shana Ortman, ICJB US Coordinator, (415)-746-0306, shana'at'panna.org
New York -- Internal documents penned by India’s Ministry of Law declare that any legal liability stemming from the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster and civil suits regarding ongoing contamination rests with the Dow Chemical Company, following its 2001 purchase of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC).
The news emerges just ahead of Dow’s Annual General Meeting, to be held in Midland, Mich. this Thursday, May 15, when Dow will face serious shareholder concerns about the company’s liabilities in Bhopal. This revelation also comes on the heels of a major Dow scandal at the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in which a highly respected EPA regional director was forced to resign over enforcement actions on dioxin contamination linked to Dow.
According to these documents, India’s Law Ministry “has observed that irrespective of the manner in which UCC has merged or has been acquired by Dow Chemicals, if there is any legal liability, it would have to be borne by Dow.”
The damning information originates from a memo dated February 7, 2008, recently obtained through a series of Right to Information (RTI) requests filed in Delhi by survivors of the Bhopal disaster and
their supporters. The survivors are closing in on 50 days of protests in the nation’s capital, pressing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s administration for fresh, genuine plans to end the suffering in Bhopal. This includes legal action to force Dow to remediate the site of the Bhopal disaster and surrounding areas.
“Dow has been attempting to avoid their liabilities in Bhopal for years. Now, they can no longer obscure their legal responsibilities,” said Shana Ortman, U.S. Coordinator for the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal (ICJB), who plans to attend Dow’s AGM to ask the Board how they intend to deal with these liabilities. “Dow plans to invest over a billion dollars in India. Their plans are now at great risk.”
The memo also reveals that Dow officials continue to inquire about the impact of their liabilities in Bhopal. Dow “was seeking assurances” about the ease with which corporate leadership can travel in India, “while simultaneously attending to the pending civil cases against them.” This is a clear sign that Dow recognizes the consequences of their legal culpability for Bhopal.
“The collusion of members of the Indian government with Dow/Carbide continues to bring irreparable devastation to many lives,” said Tony Millard of ICJB. “We are pleased to learn that the Law Ministry sees Dow as the liable party in pending cases regarding Bhopal. Prime Minister Singh and his government must prioritize the suffering of India’s people ahead of foreign investment.”
This is not the only recent government scandal plaguing Dow. On May 1, Mary Gade, head of the EPA’s Midwest office, based in Chicago, was forced out after reportedly confronting Dow about their responsibility for grave levels of dioxin contamination in Michigan, yet another tragedy linked to Dow.
Fifty Bhopal survivors arrived in Delhi in late March to begin a sit-in and a series of protests, after finishing a grueling march of over 500 miles from Bhopal. In addition to their demand for legal action against Dow, survivors are pressuring Prime Minister Singh to establish an empowered Special Commission on Bhopal, vested with powers to move swiftly and efficiently toward ensuring the provision of proper medical care, safe drinking water and more, for affected Bhopalis.
Nearly half a million people were exposed to poisonous methyl isocyanate (MIC) during a runaway chemical reaction at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal on December 3rd, 1984. Since then, more than 22,000 people have died and 150,000 survivors continue to be chronically ill. Dow has repeatedly failed to address its legal responsibility for the atrocities of the world’s worst industrial disaster.
Posted by tim at 03:33 PM | Comments (0)
May 12, 2008
Dow Chemical investments in India at risk, PMO files reveal
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationary Karamchari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
May 12 2008, New Delhi: "Irrespective of the manner in which [Union Carbide Corporation] has merged or has been acquired by Dow Chemicals, if there is any legal liability, it would have to be borne by Dow Chemicals," according to an internal document dated 7.2.2008 from the PMO that attributes this opinion to the Ministry of Law. This document contradicts Dow's stated position to its shareholders, and clearly outlines the risks faced by Dow Chemical's investments in India. The document was unearthed on 8 May, 2008, through Right to Information from the Prime Minister's Office by survivors organizations of 1984 Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal. Around 50 Bhopal victims who arrived in Delhi on foot from Bhopal are currently on the 46th day of sit-in strike in New Delhi. More than 400 other Bhopalis joined them today. Bhopal activists said they will bring the Law Ministry's opinion to the notice of Dow shareholders at the company's Annual General Meeting at Midland, Michigan, on 15 May, 2008.
Two key ministries – the Ministry of Chemicals, which is the nodal agency on Bhopal, and the Ministry of Law, the final word in the Government on all legal matters – agree that Dow should be made to pay for Union Carbide's liabilities. However, Bhopal activists say they will not let their guard down. "There is always the threat that legal and moral issues will be set aside for financial considerations such as investments," said Satinath Sarangi of Bhopal Group for Information and Action. "The Industry and Finance ministers and Planning Commission's Montek Singh Ahluwalia are the ones to watch out because they endorsed Dow's demand for immunity in 2006," he said.
In 2005, Dow began intense lobbying for legal immunity against Carbide's liabilities prompted by a May 2005 application by the Ministry of Chemicals in a case relating to toxic waste clean-up in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The application sought Rs.100 crores ($25 million) from Dow towards clean-up costs. Dow claims that its 100 percent subsidiary, Union Carbide, is a separate legal entity with its own system of liability management, and that Dow has inherited only assets and not Carbide's liabilities.
Responding to requests from Dow and its allies, the Prime Minister instructed the Chemicals Ministry to prepare a note on Dow's legal liabilities in consultation with the Law Ministry. While the actual note prepared by Chemical and Law Ministries is not available, the internal briefing note prepared by PMO director Shaleen Kabra dismisses any possibility for immunity: "[The Law Ministry] has categorically stated that in view of the pendency of Writ Petition in the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the legal position stated above, it cannot also be said that the investment proposed to be made by the Dow Chemicals will be immune from the orders of the Court," the note observes.
In a margin note dated 15.2.08 to the internal letter, the Prime Minister has written, "While we may not send any comments on the draft note, Finance Ministry, Commerce and Industry Ministry & Planning Commission should be asked for their comments."
These revelations could have ramifications on the joint venture agreement between Dow Chemical and Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd last April to set up a 200,000 tonnes per annum chloromethanes factory in Dahej, Gujarat. This is Dow's first major investment announcement since its acquisition of Carbide. Dow has shied away from large investments in India, both because of its perceived risks and the hostile reaction to its entry from various quarters.
In January this year, Dow Chemical's attempts to construct a Rs. 300 crore R&D facility in Chakan, Pune was stalled after villagers dug up approach roads to the construction site. The villagers have forced the Government to rethink the permission given for Dow's proposal. Its attempts to forge alliances with the Indian Institutes of Technology have also run into rough weather. Citing Dow's mishandling of the Bhopal legacy issues as reason, students and teachers at six prestigious engineering institutes around the country have joined hands to bar the company from any truck with IIT.
Separately, a case involving bribes paid by Dow officials to Indian agriculture ministry staff to register three toxic pesticides is also under investigation. Last year Dow Chemical was charged with violations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As per the Indian Penal Code "bribe" is a criminal offence punishable by up to one year of rigorous imprisonment. As part of its investigation in to this crime the Central Bureau of Investigation has recently sent a Letter Rogatory seeking judicial assistance from the US Justice Department.
Rashida Bee, Champa Devi Shukla
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh
Syed M Irfan
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha
Rachna Dhingra, Satinath Sarangi
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
For more information contact:
Rachna Dhingra: 97175 16005
Posted by tim at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)
May 05, 2008
Bhopali Kids Drive Home their Demands to PM
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh
Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha
Bhopal Group for Information and Action
Five month old water contamination affected Nida outside Manmohan Singh's residence today
NEW DELHI, 5 May, 2008 -- More than 40 Bhopali children – the Generation Next of Union Carbide's victims - along with their parents addressed the media in front of the Prime Minister's House. Braving the risks of gathering in a high-security zone, the children said that the Government must be ashamed to make Bhopal victims walk and wait just to get their basic rights to health, livelihood and clean environment. "We are of the same age as Dr. Singh's grandchildren," said 11-year old Yasmin Khan, one of the youngsters who completed the arduous 800km march to Delhi. "Would he let his grandchildren drink poisoned water, or see them sitting on the hot pavement for 40 days?"
On 16 April, Yasmin wrote a letter to the PM with blood drawn from Bhopal victims, seeking an hour of his time. This letter was delivered to the Prime Minister along with hand-written notes from more than 500 children from across the country. It has been more than three months since the PM was first asked for an appointment, and told about the Bhopalis' intent to undertake a padayatra to New Delhi. Since then, 2800 people from 18 countries have sent faxes to the Prime Minister's office urging him to meet the Bhopalis' demands. In a meeting with the Bhopalis on 29 April – more than a month ago – Principal Secretary in the PMO, Mr. T.K.A. Nair said he would help them meet the PM. So far, delegations of Bhopalis and their supporters have met various ministers and MPs, the bureaucrats in all relevant departments, and the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Bhopal. The GoM, headed by Arjun Singh, said it agreed with survivors' demands for an empowered commission and legal action against Dow Chemical and Union Carbide.
The Bhopal organizations are demanding an Empowered Commission on Bhopal to execute social, economic and medical rehabilitation, environmental clean-up and provision of clean drinking water. The groups have submitted a draft parliamentary bill for the Commission to the GoM and the PMO. According to the groups, the Commission should include representatives of survivors organizations and considering the adverse effect on the Generation Next of Bhopal victims, must function at least for 30 years.
In demanding justice, the Bhopal organizations are calling for government action to produce the authorized representative of Union Carbide as well as former Carbide Chairman, Warren Anderson who are charged with culpable homicide and other grave offences. They are demanding that the government must make Dow Chemical, 100% owner of Union Carbide, to clean up toxic contamination in and around the factory. Further, the organizations are calling for de-registration of Dursban and two other pesticides registered by payment of bribes, and revocation of the approval given to Reliance Industries to import Union Carbide's confiscable Unipol PP technology.
For more information, contact:
Nityanand Jayaraman – 9717516003
Rachna Dhingra – 9717516005.
Posted by tim at 12:11 AM | Comments (0)