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.
Africa
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:
Mother Earth
www.motherearth.org/USboycott/
IDEA
www.boycottwar.net/
Presscontact
+32-495-28 02 59
Pol D'Huyvetter pol@motherearth.org