No talk of Indian boycott of Olympics, say IOC

A boycott of the London Games because of Dow Chemical's sponsorship has not been mentioned by the Indian Olympic Association, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Wednesday. 

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has demanded London 2012 terminates its deal with the U.S. firm because of its links to the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster while there have been some calls for a boycott of the Games. 
    
"We have been in contact with the IOA about this issue," said IOC President Jacques Rogge. "We are in discussions with them. We have no contacts with the government." 
Asked whether a boycott had been discussed with the IOA, Rogge said it had not. 

"This has not been included in correspondence or discussions," Rogge told reporters at the end of a two-day executive board meeting. 

"There have been declarations (of a boycott) in the media. I am only referring to press articles. This is not a discussion we have had with them (IOA)." 

As many as 25,000 residents of Bhopal, India, died in the aftermath of a 1984 gas leak at a pesticide factory that was owned by a subsidiary of Union Carbide, which sold the facility in 1994. 

Dow, a sponsor of the London Olympics and of the IOC, bought Union Carbide in 2001. 

Dow's plastics division is providing the material for 336 panels that will adorn the outside of the Olympic stadium during the period of the Games before they are dismantled and re-used elsewhere. 

The London Olympics run from July 27 to August 12.

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