community-based, non-corporate, participatory media
APRIL 9, CALL FOR ACTION: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST CATERPILLAR
by SUSTAIN
Monday, Jan. 12, 2004 at 4:24 PM
sustain@postmark.net
SUSTAIN calls for an International Day of Action against the Caterpillar Corporation on Deir Yassin Day (April 9th) demanding that: 1.) Caterpillar Corporation must sever all contracts with the Israeli Military. 2.) Caterpillar Corporation must draft a public letter explaining why they have done so. We encourage peace and justice loving people from around the world to organize actions or events addressing the role of Caterpillar in supporting the attacks against the Palestinian people. *********************************************************
Whereas, the Caterpillar Corporation's D-9 bulldozer physically embodies the horrible atrocity that is happening to the Palestinian people - the Nabka (Great Catastrophe) - the ethnic cleansing of Palestine;
Whereas, the Caterpillar Corporation's machinery is directly implicated in grave abuses of human rights by Israeli Defense Forces including the collective punishment of the Palestinian people through house demolitions, clearing a path for and construcing the Apartheid Wall and murder of civilians;
Whereas, these actions are illegal under international law - specifically violating the Fourth Geneva Convention, the Rome Statue of the International Court and the Hague Conventions;
Whereas, the sale of the Caterpillar bulldozer to Israeli Defense Forces violates the U.S. Arms Export Control Act;
Whereas, the Caterpillar Corporation's agreements with the Israeli military stand as a stark example of the material, economic and political aid given by the United States government and multinational corporations - the aid that enable these atrocities;
Whereas, U.S. economic and milatary aid is funded entirely by the public's tax money, while public education and social services institutes are suffering severe budget cuts from the federal government;
Whereas, the Caterpillar Corporation's business is largely civilian in nature, it is not dependent on these military contracts to survive as a corporation and therefore can afford to sever these contracts;
Whereas, we are more powerful when united internationally against a common target, a target that has important symbolic relevance, and a target that represents a winnable victory;
Whereas, the Caterpillar Corporation has offices, manufacturing facilities and subcontractors throughout the world;
Whereas, April 9th will be the 56th anniversary of the Deir Yassin massacre, the commemoration of which is meant to recognize and remember the Nakba of ethnic cleansing, murder, terrorism and particulary house and village demolition that befell the Palestinian people in 1948. The ethnic cleansing, murder, terrorism and house demolition have continued to this day (the Jenin Massacre was unfolding two years ago at this time.)
CALL TO ACTION
We therefore call for an International Day of Action against the Caterpillar Corporation on Deir Yassin Day (April 9th) demanding that:
1.) Caterpillar Corporation must sever all contracts with the Israeli Military.
2.) Caterpillar Corporation must draft a public letter explaining why they have done so.
We encourage peace and justice loving people from around the world to organize actions or events addressing the role of Caterpillar in supporting the attacks against the Palestinian people.
Possible Actions:
1. Organize an action at your local Caterpillar representative or sales representatives office. Demand that they sign on to demands of the campaign.
2. Student and community groups call for their institutions, city councils, faith communities or unions pass resolutions divesting from the Caterpillar Corporation until the campaigns demands are met.
3. Activists who are far away from a possible target for action or divestment can organize an educational event to demonstrate to communities the role of Caterpillar in supporting the oppression of the Palestinian people.
4. Activists who do not have the capacity to organize an action or event can stage a "banner drop." This action requires a minimum of two individuals to create a banner supporting the International Day of Action and display the banner in a high traffic (i.e.: freeway overpass, tall buildings, etc.)
We suggest that people work democratically, to work in coalition with a diverse group of organizations and to be creative in their actions.
We propose that the international center of this Day of Action be in Peoria, Illinois - the headquarters of the Caterpillar Corporations.
We propose that the action be two-fold:
1.) A delegation of community leaders who will attempt to visit the CEO to explain how Caterpillar products are being used in Occupied Palestine and to demand that their relationship with the Israeli government be severed.
2.) A mass mobilization of people outside the Caterpillar Corporate Headquarters demanding the same.
Organizations, faith communities, labor groups and individuals from the Midwest region that are interested in endorsing and participating in our organizing effort should send an e-mail to ISMinChicago (at) aol.com. Please include a contact name and
phone number in the e-mail.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST CATERPILLAR VISIT: http://www.catdestroyshomes.org and sustaincampaign.org
Now this is truely a Stupid Protest
by George K.
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2004 at 8:42 AM
vine_swinger_chuckie@yahoo.com
This has got to be one of the dumber "calls to action" that I have seen on this board. A protest against Catapillar?
This will have absolutely NO effect. I hope the two or three people that show up are not too cold.
The bell curve exists.
Stupid?
by Mary H
Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2004 at 2:03 PM
mary@indypgh.org
"Atticus, are we going to win it?"
"No, honey."
"Then why-"
"Simply because we were licked before we started is no reason for us not to try to win," Atticus said.
Not saying...
by George K.
Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004 at 11:34 AM
vine_swinger_chuckie@yahoo.com
Your quote displays your misunderstanding of my criticism of this "call to action".
This action against Caterpillar is ineffective because it does not target the entity that carries out the campaigns of "house destruction". The politics of blame can only be taken back so far through the "chain of causality", i.e. the driver employed by department hired by the military of a country supported by the USA. The department of this country hired by their military used funds to purchase a Caterpillar tractor from an equipment dealer, who obtained the tractor through an importer.
Where in this chain of events did the employees and management of Caterpillar become responsible for the use of the tractor? The employees of Caterpillar have recently fought a long and hard labor battle (and still came up on the short end of the stick), and they are now going to be economically and ethically villified by a group of mis-guided but well-meaning activists?
Please, Mary, if your group could focus your energies, it could do more good than protesting "Joe Caterpillar" and his USWA job.
Try coalescing all of these protests into one against the billions in aid given to the country that purchases the tractors, and cut off their ability to buy them. Other customers will still purchase the tractors without the stigma of your protest against Caterpillar, supporting Union jobs.
If Caterpillar is harmed, lets face it, the tractors will be purchased from Misubishi, Komatsu, or somewhere thereof.
thanks, george
by mary
Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2004 at 2:05 PM
but if I need advice on "focusing my energy" and living my life, I will look to folks who have some appropriate accomplishments, knowledge, and experience. I'm not aware of any of yours.
Touche'
by George K.
Thursday, Jan. 22, 2004 at 6:52 AM
vine_swinger_chuckie@yahoo.com
Touche' Mary. I do not propose to question your view of what you value "accomplishments" to be, since our views are obviously different, and I respect your activism.
I appreciate good discussion, and I have tried to point out that a protest against Caterpillar will not follow the "chain of hurt" back to Israel. They will simply purchase heavy equipment elsewhere.
What the protest will hurt will possibly be the union people that won a hard fought contract in the last few years. The research that I have done on the decline in union representation in the US included the erosion of the union position at Caterpillar, and this contract was a tenuous hold for the USW.
The real culprit is the money flowing from the US coffers to Israel that would allow them to purchase heavy equipment. From the money, stems the purchase of weapons, equipment, housing, and other means of antigonistic expansion.
The path is clear: cut off the "food" for this animal and it will have to stop lashing out. Money from the US is the weak spot.
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