DUMPED CONNEX - DID BDS CAMPAIGN HELP?

Received by email on 26 June 2009:

AUSTRALIANS FOR PALESTINE Tel: 9818 5080
PO Box 2099, HAWTHORN VIC 3122 Fax: 9818 5009
email: info@australiansforpalestine.com
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Connex “dumped” after 4 month boycott campaign

Connex has been dumped by the Victorian State Government as Melbourne’s train
system operator. Moammar Mashni of Australians for Palestine said that after four
months of campaigning and some 100,000 pamphlets distributed, Palestine
advocacy groups can take heart.

“This is the first step in what we hope will become a strong Boycotts, Divestments
and Sanctions (BDS) movement in Australia against Israel’s apartheid policies,” Mr
Mashni said. “Our boycott pamphlet asked people to send a detachable petition to
Minister Kosky and we understand that thousands have landed on her desk.”
The Dump Connex campaign had been run to alert Melbourne’s commuters to the
unethical agreement that Connex had entered into with Israel. Under the contract,
Connex had agreed to operate a public transport service to Jewish settlements that
Israel is continuing to build deep inside the Occupied West Bank in defiance of
international law.

“However,” said Mr Mashni, “Connex may be losing on that score as well. Only
recently, its parent company Veolia announced that it would be seeking to pull out
of its contract with Israel to build the Jerusalem light rail, due to some $7 billion
worth of losses. There is no doubt that the BDS campaigns run by Palestine
solidarity groups in Europe had a lot to do with that.”
These worldwide boycotts have become necessary as Israel continues to ignore
calls to halt its illegal settlement expansion in the Occupied Palestinian territories.

“They are,” said Mr Mashni “nonviolent actions that were shown to be most
effective in ending apartheid rule in South Africa and Australia can expect to see
many more such actions being taken against companies doing business with
Israel.”

For further information phone Moammar Mashni on 0419 999 773
Campaign details available on the website www.boycottconnex.org
Providing a Voice
prepared by SK/AFP