Belgian Bocott
From: Dr. Mervyn D. De Silva (drmervyn@sltnet.lk)
Subject: [toeslist] Fw: [abolition-caucus] Belgian "Boycott Bush"
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive
Date: 2003-06-16 01:00:30 PST
----- Original Message -----
From: Pol D'Huyvetter
To: formotherearth@yahoogroups.com ; boycottUS@yahoogroups.com ;
abolition-caucus@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, June 14, 2003 10:04 PM
Subject: [abolition-caucus] Belgian "Boycott Bush" actions close Esso & Texaco
petrol stations
Pictures on http://www.motherearth.org/USboycott/pressroom_en.php
For immediate release
Belgian "Boycott Bush" actions close Esso & Texaco petrol stations
Brussels, June 14th 2003 - At noon simultaneous boycott actions closed
Esso and Texaco petrol stations in most Belgian provinces. At an Esso petrol
station in Gent a carpet of dead bodies, armed US marines, and George W. Bush,
illustrated the link between thousands of innocent victims, the important
Iraqi oilfields and the gasoline sold by US oil-multinationals Esso and
Texaco.
The boycott organisers (including Attac, America Watchers, For Mother Earth
and Christian Movement for Peace) declare that the US has been acting as a
rogue state ever since George W. Bush was elected president. With the boycott
of certain US products the growing coalition of NGO's wants to force the US
government to once again join the international community, complying with the
rules of the United Nations and international law.
Using hazard warning tape and banners, the non-violent campaigners
successfully closed Esso and Texaco petrol stations in Antwerp, Arlon, Bruges,
Brussels, Gent, Hasselt and Namur. In most cases the employees of the
petrol-stations understood the motivations of the campaigners, and dialogue
was possible. Motorists who received flyers calling on them to boycott US oil
companies reacted most of the time with a smile and a thumbs-up.
With these new boycott actions, the organisers condemn the illegal war against
Iraq and ongoing occupation of the country. These actions follow the statement
of Paul Wolfowitz whose open acknowledgement that oil was the main reason for
the military operation in Iraq, sparked anger with many people. Wolfowitz
admitted that although weapons of mass destruction were presented as the main
cause for war, they were only a "bureaucratic excuse" to get support for the
military campaign. The recent news coverage of falsified reports about Iraq's
of Weapons of Mass Destruction undermine any last legal ground for the US
attack which claimed thousand of civilian victims.
Therefore the boycott campaigners demand the immediate withdrawal of the US
occupying forces from Iraq.
They also demand that the US:
7 allow the UN to take over the civil administration in Iraq as soon as
possible
7 end 'pre-emptive' attacks on other states
7 actively pursue a two-state solution for Palestine & Israel
7 stop the use of double standards concerning Weapons of Mass Destruction
(e.g. those of Israel and the US's own stocks)
7 ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
7 adopt the Kyoto protocol to stop global warming
7 abandon National Missile Defence & reinstate the ABM Treaty
7 recognize the competence of the International Criminal Court to prosecute
war criminals and cancel all bilateral agreements
7 respect the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and negotiates a Treaty for
complete nuclear disarmament
7 ratifies Biological Weapons Convention
7 ratifies 1997 Landmine Treaty
7 strengthens the Chemical Weapons Convention
"There is blood of thousands of innocent victims on the logos of Esso and
Texaco. Both US multinationals -who together donated 2 million US dollars to
the 2000 Bush election campaign- are driving forces behind the policies of the
Bush administration. As Bush ignored the UN and the international public
opinion, today the boycott is the most effective model of action we can offer
to any citizen. Everybody can easily register his or her opposition to the US
foreign policy by boycotting our list of US products, or all US products.
Money is the language which was used by the US to coerce nations into their
coalition. The boycott is a language they understand in Washington." declared
Pol D'Huyvetter, spokesperson for For Mother Earth.
Other US multinationals close to the Bush administration, and regular donors
to the Republican party, have been the target of boycott activists since the
Iraqi crisis. They include Kraft, Philip Morris, Microsoft, Walt Disney, Coca
Cola and Pepsi. Consumers can find more information about the boycott and
alternative products on http://www.motherearth.org/USboycott/
For Mother Earth
p.a. Gents Ecologisch Centrum
K. Maria Hendrikaplein 5
B-9000 Gent
Tel +32-9-242 87 52 or direct 04
Fax +32-9-242 87 51
pol@motherearth.org
www.motherearth.org
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