Activists celebrate victory at City Hall
By Dawn Witlin / Chronicle Staff
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Human rights activists descended upon the front lawn of Cambridge City Hall Tuesday, in response to several resolutions passed by City Council supporting their efforts.
Councilor Henrietta Davis introduced several orders on behalf of Greater Coalition for Justice in Bhopal, asking that Cambridge take shareholder and purchasing action against Dow Chemical.
The activists, who erected large "Scales of Justice" on the lawn, said the Dow Chemical company has refused to take responsibility for cleaning up a chemical spill in Bhopal, India in 1984, which has killed 200,000 people since.
Adopted last week, the lengthy council orders recommend that the Cambridge Retirement Board divest Dow bonds and refrain from future purchases, ask the City Manager to audit Dow purchases throughout the city and report back on ways to cut them out, as well as names December 3 as a day of remembrance for victims of industrial accidents.