Following a four and a half hour protest at Dow Chemical’s Texas
headquarters, 12 activists representing the International Campaign
for Justice in Bhopal were arrested by Houston Police. Activists
were locked to concrete-filled barrels, effectively blocking the
entrances to the Houston Dow Center on Sam Houston Parkway South.
In addition, barrels of contaminated drinking water from Bhopal
were delivered to Dow. Emergency technicians jack-hammered through
the concrete barrels in order for police to make arrests.
Protesters were demanding that Dow agree to meet with Bhopal
survivors and to drop two lawsuits it has filed against survivors
who held non-violent demonstrations outside Dow’s Mumbai (Bombay),
India office. John Musser at Dow’s corporate headquarters in
Michigan told a Greenpeace campaigner that Dow would meet with
survivors at or before the company’s annual general meeting in May.
Musser made it clear however, that the Dow would not discuss
liability issues or other substantive matters. Furthermore, Musser
made it clear that the lawsuits against the survivors would not be
dropped in India.
The Texas Environmental Crimes Unit arrived on the scene to test
the drinking water that Dow has contaminated, expressing concern
and threatening to take further legal action against the
protestors.
“It is ironic that Texas is looking
to charge peaceful protestors, who are seeking justice for the
people of Bhopal, with environmental crimes. The real crime was
committed 18 years ago against the people of Bhopal and continues
today,” said Casey Harrell of Greenpeace.
