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PRESS RELEASE Monday, June 14, 2010

For Immediate Release

Contact: Somu Kumar, somukumar@gmail.com , 703-728-8987

Aquene Freechild, Aq uene@gmail.com , 617-378-2579

Polluter Should Pay: Outrage at Dow C hemicals and UnionC arbide officials going scot-free in Bhopal

Protestors draw comparision to the huge liabilities being slapped on BP in the US

Demand to the Indian PM to extradite Anderson and force Dow C hemicals toaccept liability, and ensure appropriate sentencing for the Indian accused

Washington, D C Bhopal activists haunted the Gandhi statue in front of the Indian Embassyechoing a cry for justice from Dow Chemical heard loudly in India. The advocates and concernedIndian citizens raised their voices in alarm after the weak sentencing of the Indian accused, anda failure to prosecute the Americans accused of causing the Bhopal Disaster.

A guilty verdict was handed down on June 7, 2010 against the defunct Union Carbide IndiaLimited and 7 individuals accused in the Bhopal Disaster criminal case. The accused posted$2,000 bail for their 2 year jail sentence the day of the verdict. Absconding parties includedDow-owned Union Carbide and its former CEO Warren Anderson. The verdict has been metwith outrage by Bhopal survivors and their supporters worldwide.

Members of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal and Association for India sDevelopment called on India to extradite Warren Anderson and Dow representatives forcriminal and civil liability for ongoing poisoning and death in Bhopal. They also called on PrimeMinister to address this injustice by setting up a Special Prosecution Cell to expedite the case,to set up an Empowered Commission on Bhopal to rehabilitate survivors and their children, andfor India to blacklist Dow Chemical.

At the heart of the denial of justice is the fact that Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and itsformer CEO Warren Anderson, the principle accused in the case, have thus far escaped trial.Dow Chemical-owned UCC and Anderson have been charged with culpable homicide, but haveignored summons to appear in court. In 1992, the Indian Government declared themabsconders. Dow is also named in a case pursuing clean up of the ongoing water pollution fromthe abandoned factory site, which dubiously began polluting the city well before the 1984 gas

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leak.

It is mind-boggling to see the amount of corruption revealed within a week of this too little,too late verdict for the Indian accused, said University of Maryland Ph.D student LakshmiGorrepati. The events only prove wide collusion among elected politicians, bureaucrats and

corporates to the extent of putting an accused criminal in a government jet and letting himescape justice. It makes a sham of Indian democracy and the judicial system, that criminalsinvolved in deaths of 25,000 people walk out on bail on the day of the verdict.

Prof. Mohan Bhagat, Director of Association for India s Development ( AID) said, It is ironic thatin the US Gulf Coast disaster, BP is being slapped with several billion dollars of expenses andthousands of lawsuits within the first month; whereas in Bhopal, 26 years after the worst-everindustrial disaster in the world with 25,000 lives lost, those responsible are being let off withbarely a sentence and with paltry compensation for the victims. It is time for all concerned inIndia and in the US to stand up and demand justice for the Bhopalis.

#The International Campaign for Justice for Bhopal (ICJB) is a coalition led by four survivororganizations along with environmental, social justice, progressive Indian, and human rightsgroups and supporters around the world. ICJB works to hold the Indian Government and DowChemical Corporation (the current owner of Union Carbide) accountable for the ongoingchemical disaster in Bhopal, India. It was set up to address the grave injustices suffered by thehalf million Bhopal Chemical Disaster survivors and their children.

#Association for India's Development ( AID) is a volunteer movement promoting sustainable,eq uitable and just development. AID supports grassroots organizations in India and initiates

efforts in various interconnected spheres such as education, livelihoods, natural resourcesincluding land, water and energy, agriculture, health, women's empowerment and social justice.

More at: www.bhopal.net http://bhopal.aidindia.org/ - www.studentsforbhopal.org

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