No
money for war: consumers around the globe boycott US
March 17, 2003
As the largest demonstrations in history of human-kind don't seem
to have any effect on the plans of Bush regarding Iraq, a growing
number of citizens groups around the globe call for a worldwide
consumers boycott of the US economy. "Not an anti-American
reflex, nor pro- Saddam, but a difficult step as the United Nations
are once again being put aside by the US. The boycott is a very
practical tool for the public to oppose this war." declared
Pol D'Huyvetter a spokesperson of For Mother Earth, an international
NGO calling for a boycott of US companies who benefit from the war.
The targeted companies are very often being contacted by the critical
consumers in an effort to reach the White House.
According to IDEA (International group for Direct Economic Action
against war), a network and clearinghouse for the global boycott
campaign, many political analysts believe that the tactic of the
boycott, if embraced by the peace movement as a whole, is the only
form of non-violent direct action that could potentially stop or
mitigate US attacks on Iraq. If the people opposed to the war were
to express their opinion with their wallets by boycotting, the impact
on US corporations would be significant.
The fast growing international boycott movement is a grassroots
phenomenon, with boycott websites and calls to action springing
up independently in diverse locations. Boycott strategies are also
diverse, ranging from refusal to purchase any US or UK goods to
targeting those corporations known to support Bush or likely to
profit from the war.
Here are some of the facts known about the boycott for South-America,
the Middle East, the Pacific, Europe, South-Africa and the US. However
we also know people around the world are already using their wallet
to oppose the war.
South
America
In Brazil the federal deputy Chico Alencar ( worker´s party
- PT), in Rio de Janeiro announced last Friday (14/03/2003) the
campaign to boycott products made in USA, to be implemented if the
attack against Iraq happens. " I hope we won´t have to
undertake the boycott, but if this unilateral attack from the United
States, disregarding the UN, really happens, we will boycott.",
says Alencar. Labor unions at Santos, the largest port in Brazil
and Latin America, are planning a 24-hour strike for peace by boycotting
ships and goods under the U.S. or British banner, a union official
said on Monday March 17th. "Labor unions from Santos will meet
to vote on proposals on how to voice our desire for peace and our
distaste over the coming war in Iraq," said, Marcos Duarte,
the president of the Urban Unions of Santos. Representatives from
70 unions, including the petroleum, chemical, banking, shipping
and metallurgical industries, should attend the meeting, set for
Tuesday morning, said Duarte, who added that many had expressed
firm support for the strike. "We don't know when we will hold
the strike but we will vote on proposals tomorrow," he said.
"I want to stress that the strike would not be a protest against
the United States or Britain but rather against war and for peace.
We are proposing that no adherent to the strike drink a Coca-Cola
or go into a McDonald's for lunch," said Duarte. He said the
idea came from local TV reports showing U.S. and British bar owners
pouring French wine onto the streets in protest of France's threat
to veto a new U.N. resolution that would give the go-ahead to a
U.S.-led war in Iraq.
Middle
East
As we all know the US foreign policy towards Israel (with ABC weapons),
Palestine and Iraq has angered many Muslims. The boycott of US products
has hit such American giants as McDonald's, Burger King, Kentucky
Fried Chicken, Starbucks, Coke and Pepsi where some company sales
have dropped by as much as 65 percent. Two of the six McDonald's
franchises in Jordan have closed for lack of business, and KFC and
McDonald's branches in Muscat, the capital of Oman, report that
sales have fallen by up to 65 percent. In Jordan, a committee representing
14 opposition parties and 14 trade unions has called for citizens
to boycott US goods and to purchase French and German goods instead.
Pacific
In New Zealand, the Spend for Peace campaign is calling for consumers
to boycott specific US brands (such as Dow and Dupont) and to notify
the companies that they are doing so. In Australia Peace Action
calls for a boycott as a positive and powerful alternative to "fighting"
for peace. As most people calling for a boycott they declare: "We
are not anti-American, or pro-Saddam. We just simply do not believe
that war is the answer."
Europe
The European Social Forum, which encompasses a multiplicity of
organizations from many countries, has called for a boycott of all
US oil companies. In the UK, the Stop the War Coalition has expressed
support for the ongoing Greenpeace boycott of Exxon-Esso-Mobil oil
companies. In Iceland "Atak gegn stridi" (Campaign against
the war) is also calling for a boycott. Elias Davidsson declared
that "As Iceland has a very small population (280,000 people),
the effects of such a boycott serve to unite the people here against
the war." Also in Italy the call is being networked over the
web. In Belgium For Mother Earth and two other Ngo's have taken
the step to call for a boycott which was warmly embraced by the
many thousands of demonstrators who marched through the streets
of Brussels last Saturday.
In South Africa, the Iraq Action Committee of South Africa has
called for a boycott of American and British products to protest
the bombing of Iraq.
USA
And finally also in the USA the boycott finds support amongst the
opponents to the war. Be the Cause is targeting specific brands
(such as Kraft and Philip Morris) for a consumer boycott. The influential
Adbusters magazine and website has launched a "Boycott Brand
America" campaign, which asks participants to pledge to boycott
American corporate brands "from the moment the war begins and
to the best of my ability until the empire learns to listen"
The boycott has not merely had adverse results; there is also a
consequent effort to produce and consume locally-produced goods
instead. The biggest success-story has been Iran's Zam Zam Cola,
whose sales have skyrocketed. The manufacturers cannot keep pace
with demand from customers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf
states. In the United Arab Emirates Star Cola is doing brisk business,
while an enterprising Muslim in France has come up with the brand
name "Mecca Cola". The fact that Muslims are beginning
to make products to replace American ones is welcomed by both Muslims
and others around the globe.
More information or to sign on:
For Mother Earth
www.motherearth.org/USboycott/
Presscontact
+32-495-28 02 59
pol@motherearth.org
IDEA
www.boycottwar.net/
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