Dow's Dirty Tricks: Hired U.S. Firm to Spy on Bhopal Activists

"This is an organization that just does not collect information through bribes, insiders, it is also an organization that acts on that information to subvert particular groups. Stratfor spies or monitors activists seeking redress over the Bhopal tragedy which killed thousands in India," said WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange. The whistle-blower website said the emails expose a large global network of paid informants for Stratfor, who paid either by use of prepaid credit card or throught secret Swiss bank accounts for their services.

Stratfor, the U.S. think-tank was fast in response and said, "Having had our property stolen, we will not be victimised twice by submitting to questioning about them."

However, the activists say they are familiar with the dirty tricks Dow has been playing over the years and that they are not surprised at this. The activists are planning to use these emails to mount the pressure on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to drop Dow as the London Olympic Sponsor.

"We know the kind of company we are dealing with, it's a dirty and it's an evil company, and we just hope that this becomes a wakeup call for the Indian government to make sure that Dow Chemicals is not let off the hook of Union Carbide's liability. We have a strong suspicion that Dow Chemicals has been spying on the Indian government as well and that is why we are waiting for the previous files, but we are exploring the legal options in suing Dow Chemicals for spying," said activist Rachna Dhingra, reports ibnlive.

Dow’s action has been termed a ‘sinister spy tactics’ by Yes Men activists and said in a statement, “These leaks seem to show that corporate power is most afraid of whatever reveals ‘the larger whole' and ‘broader issues', i.e., whatever brings systemic criminal behavior to light.”