Global call for U.S. boycott
Donald - 03.02.2005 17:23
Global call for U.S. boycott at World Social Forum, Brasil -
campaigners prepare for continental social forums in Africa, Asia,
Americas, Europe and Pacific
Global call for U.S. boycott at World Social Forum, Brasil -
campaigners prepare for continental social forums in Africa, Asia,
Americas, Europe and Pacific
Porto Alegre, February 4th 2005 – Participants from around the globe
united in a renewed call for a worldwide boycott of US brands as an
effective action against unilateral US Foreign policies. During a meeting
with more than 600 activists, boycott campaigners from Australia, Belgium,
Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Japan, South-Korea and Sweden repeated the
rationale behind the US boycott, as both the UN and protests with millions
of people does not seem to stop the destructive and self-centered policies
of Washington concerning Iraq, the Kyoto protocol, the International
Criminal Court, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty to name a few.
The US, which seriously considers resumption of nuclear testing in Nevada,
is the only country with nuclear weapons secretly deployed on the
territory of other countries. The weapons of mass destruction are part of
the largest stock of an estimated 10,640 U.S. nuclear warheads, enough to
kill every human being many times. The US imperialism seem to have no
limits with its military expenses exceeding 50% of the world total with
500 billion US dollar in 2004, and its military power stretching to an
estimated of more than 1,000 military bases outside its own territory.
During a successful strategy meeting at the WSF the boycott campaign was
able to consolidate as it found many new organizers and decided to prepare
for 2007 WSF in Africa by strengthening regional networks via
continental forum meetings in the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Pacific
in 2006.
Pol D`Huyvetter, from the international boycott campaign coordination
secretariat in Belgium, declared: `The economic boycott is an effective
non-violent tool with which concerned citizens around the world can vote
with their wallets against the aggressive policies of Washington. We need
to wake-up and explain to people and social movements that as opposition
to the Nazi regime would have boycotted German companies supporting the
fascist regime of Hitler, today we need to boycott US multinational
corporations as an effective tool to oppose US foreign policies which are
the most dangerous threat to international security and peace today`.
In a parallel meeting at the WSF, Mr. Luiz Marinho, President of CUT, the
Union of Brazilian unions, called the audience of an estimated 15,000
people to support the boycott of Exxon-Mobile, Texaco, Coca-Cola, Pepsico,
Mc Donalds and Altria (Kraft – Philip Morris).
Ms. Waratah Rosemarie Gillespie, a lawyer and award winning author from
Australia, shares the analyse that concerning the U.S. boycott campaign
the people are ahead of the social movements in effectively organizing the
boycott in their daily lives. Rosemarie Gillespie, also the Pacific
coordinator, states that social movements from over 50 countries have now
joined the boycott campaign network, it is believed that many millions of
people are boycotting U.S. brands since the illegal attack and occupation
of Iraq. This is confirmed by a recent survey from the Seattle based
Global Market Insite (GMI) Inc. questioning 8,000 consumers in eight
countries between December 10 – 12, 2004. The survey finds that the Bush
administration`s foreign policies may be costing U.S. corporations
business overseas as twenty percent of respondents in Europe and Canada
said they consciously avoided buying U.S. products as a protest against
the White House policies. That finding was consistent with similar polls
conducted out by GMI three weeks after Bush`s November election victory
and another survey by UK-based NOP World in July 2004.
Prof Hee Yeon Cho from the South Korean Defeat Bush network also found
that a growing number of community leaders in his country come to
understand that one can not protest U.S. policies with a can of Coca Cola
in the right hand, a Marlboro in the left and ones feet in Nike shoes. As
he called for strengthening the United Nations, he saw that the U.S.
continues to undermine the U.N. and the International Criminal Court. Also
Prof Atsushi Fujioka, economist and member of Attac Japan, finds that the
boycott comes very timely as an effective non-violent weapon as was used
by Mahatma Ghandi to drive out the British empire out of India, or end the
apartheid regime in South-Africa.
Roberto Ferdinand from the Brazilian boycott campaign declared `We will
not end the U.S. world dominance with marches dressed in white clothes
carrying candles. The U.S. empire is very well organized and has military
control over land, as well as the globe`s oceans, air and soon space. This
aggressive political and military dominance has to be effectively opposed,
and an economic boycott will prove to make the difference.`
Leo Stranius, campaigner of Friends of the Earth Finland, says his group
organized the boycott campaigfn effectively in his country, using creative
actions, the movement`s network as well as the main-stream media to call
consumers to use their consumers power to built another world. He called
people to buy local, fair-trade and organic products as an alternative for
the U.S. corporate products. He also explained that the argument of
unemployment created by the boycott is a false one, as the jobs lost in
U.S. corporations which are driven by profit, will be replaced by jobs in
companies which respect the environment and human-rights.
Dilys Dana Pierson from the US has been calling for the boycott since the
illegal invasion of Iraq: "What can we say about the values that drive US
foreign policy today? Vermont supporters of the international boycott
believe US foreign policy today is dictated by a belief in dominance
through military violence and a belief in fear as a mode of social control
and international intimidation. The current US administration believes in
an economic system that caters to US corporations and the rich, while
nearly one billion of our brothers and sisters on this planet face
starvation."
More information: www.boycottbush.org
• International secreatariat:
Pol D`Huyvetter  pol@motherearth.org +32-495-28 02 59
Magali Fontanel magali@motherearth.org +32-484-61 80 89
• Asia
Hee Yeon Cho telecho7@pspd.org
Phone +55-21-11-99440682
Prof Atsushi Fujioka, economist and Attac Japan
fujioka@ec.ritsumei.ac.jp
• Europe
Leo Stranius leo.stranius@iki.fi
Phone +358-40-754 73 71
• Pacific
Waratah Rosemarie Gillespie rosemarie_gillespie@ekit.com
Phone + 61-4-22802018
• North America
Dilys Dana Pierson, Vermont Boycott for Peace
• South-America
Roberto Ferdinand aecopermanente@yahoo.com.br
Phone +55-2161-81478152
Note
(1) the U.S. is believed to store nuclear weapons in Belgium, Britain,
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. These deployments suffer from
complete lack of transparency and democratic control by the elected
members of parliament.
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