I got given a leaflet at the PACT march on Saturday and thought I should share it on here:
Portsmouth Southdowns Palestine Solidarity Campaign will be holding a demo ouside the City Council Offices on wednesday 26th Jan, 12.30 – 1.30pm.
They are holding the demo to ask that Portsmouth City Council excludes nasty corporation Veolia from getting contracts, such as the one it has at the moment collecting your rubbish. A councils own regulations state that a company can be excluded from getting a contract on grounds of grave misconduct. Now, I always thought that grave misconduct was masturbating at work, or punching your boss in the face, but turns out I was wrong – Veolia goes much further… The argument in this case is that grave misconduct comes in the form of Veolia aiding and abetting Israeli war crimes! Here’s how:
French company Veolia has the contract to run a tramway linking illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem with Israel.The taking of these lands involved war crimes, the settlements contravene The Geneva convention and the tramway is cementing the settlements, taking any hope of a fair peace away from the oppressed Palestinian people. The Tramway has been declared Illegal by the UN Human Rights Council (signed by all of the EU including the UK).
It’s not only Portsmouth where Veolia picks up the rubbish, they do it in the illegal settlements too! It doesnt seem right that this company, that will do anything to make a profit without any regard for human rights, should be getting tax payers money here. The council has so far refused to listen so if you feel strongly send em’ a complaint or call em’ up to register your distaste.
Campaigning has led to Veolia losing billions of dollars when Stockholm metro stopped using them, Melbourne has also cancelled a huge contract. A few British councils have now also started to look elsewhere with Veolia recently losing council contracts in the Midlands and Edinburgh!
As usual, I would recommend reading up on this for yourself. The Portsmouth & Southdowns Palestine Solidarity Campaign can be contacted on 0292 486 064. Veolia has an office in Porsmouth near the incinerator if you want to go and see em.
It’s unlikley anyone from Portsmouth Anarchists will be in attendence on the 26th as we gotta go work so please can someone reading go and shout for me?
Portsmouth Anarchists 
That’s in the middle of a work day, that sucks. 😦 Next time they should book it during the weekend.
By: VerySlowGlobetrotter on January 17, 2011
at 9:16 pm
Yea I know, the chap who gave me the flyer was an older gent so presume he’s done with work… Although if I ever make retirement age I wouldnt mind spending the afternoon doin something like this!
By: richfoetal on January 18, 2011
at 9:25 pm
Geriatric activists are very cool!
By: VerySlowGlobetrotter on January 18, 2011
at 9:54 pm
another Israel boycottt. YAWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN.
I live in Portsmouth and Jerusalem, doing charity work in the latter city of late. Both cities had the same football directors, have similar levels of poverty, but plenty of good things.
The people that join these sorts of hatred driven rubbish, no absolutely nothing about the middle east.
The electric tramway just goes around the main part of Jerusalem providing transport for Jews, Arabs and foreigners alike.
If you want to fight injustice, why not challenge many of Arab nations around the world that abuse women and murder or persecute Christians?
By: jonathan on January 20, 2011
at 9:26 am
Yawwwwnnnnnnnnnnnn. Read the article, it’s not an Israel boycott, its a French company, but perhaps I’m being pedantic.
Firstly, I should point out that before I started contributing to this site I had never ‘blogged’, something about people sitting behind computer screens getting into pointless arguments with each other really doesnt appeal me, so I really dont want to start now. I’m just going to try to justify why I posted the article AND THEN GO ON A CRAZY RANT!!!
In case you missed the obvious this is an anarchist blog, we subscribe to the age old slogan ‘No Gods, No Masters’. We are concerned with the lives of everyday people living second rate lives at the hands of people in power. I dont think the damage religion can do needs to be discussed when talking about Israel – Palestine, it’s a given; brain washed Islamic extemists blow themselves up in crowded areas. In some places they bury adulterers up to thier necks and stone them. Brain washed fundamentalist christians bomb and shoot abortion-performing doctors in America, whilst in some African countries they kill homosexuals. I think all organised religion stinks but as an anarchist I believe people should be free to do & believe in what they want, as long as that does not infringe on anyone else doing & believing what they want.
If I thought this demo was ‘hatred driven rubbish’ I wouldn’t have posted it. If I thought someone was distributing anti semetic literaure in Portsmouth, as a comitted anti fascist, I would have dealt with them in person and then called them out on here straight away!
As a matter of interest, how much time do you spend on the wrong side of the seperation wall? I have a friend who is a nurse here and in her holidays goes to Palestine to volunteer in the hospitals there – she does not compare their standard of living with the people of Portsmouth. Its sounds horrific. People who participate in Palestinian solidarity are usually athiests, certainly not driven by hate but by a sense of justice for the oppressed.
The construction of the tramway in the occupied territory where people’s houses were bulldozed (a bit like Mugabe did in Zimbabwe) is, as the article stated, illegal. I dont like to hide behind laws as we all know right from wrong, but if you’re into that kind of thing you should take it up with the UN or the UK government who signed it on our behalf.
There are plenty of Jewish folks inside Israel opposed to what the government is doing to the Palestinian people as it’s making a peaceful outcome seem further away. One such group I came across recently is here: http://jfjfp.com/ Even better, why don’t you go and speak to the organisers at the event in Portsmouth, and hear each other out……
Thats half an hour of my life I’m not getting back.
By: richfoetal on January 20, 2011
at 10:24 pm
The Veolia company go further. To work on their tramway you need to have completed “National service” (Palestinians are not permitted to join the Israeli army) and you must have “A near first-language fluency of hebrew”. Basically, you cannot be a Palestinian and get a job there. This even goes against Israeli descrimination law.
The reason the demo is at this time is to catch councillors as they go into the general council meeting where i think something about Veolia may be debated, but it might not.
And Jonathan, P&SD PSC activists generally have a very good knowledge of the Middle East, many having spent alot of time there, or have people they know on both sides of the border.
They have a good day school coming up this Saturday, but i am in London on the Student demos so i dont have any other details
By: Sam Bogg on January 24, 2011
at 7:54 pm