<br><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="gmail_quote"><div class="gmail_quote"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><b><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">Mayoral Candidates Take Sides over St. Louis Veolia Contract:</span></b></font></span></p>
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</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><b><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">BDS Campaign Enters Mainstream Political Discourse, Prompts
Public Hearing</span></b></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"> </span></font></span></p>
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</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">January 21, 2013</span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><br>
</span></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:center" align="center"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><font>Posted at: </font><a href="http://mondoweiss.net/2013/01/slpsc.html" target="_blank"><font>http://mondoweiss.net/2013/01/slpsc.html</font></a><br>
</span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"> </span></font></span></p>
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</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%">On January 16, 2013 at
City Hall in St. Louis, Missouri, a diverse group of 60 Palestinian rights
organizers; environmental activists; workers; civil rights leaders; veterans;
local business owners; students; members of the local Muslim, Christian, and
Jewish communities; and other concerned citizens packed a meeting of the St.
Louis </span><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">Board of Estimate &
Apportionment (E&A) to show </span><span style="line-height:115%">opposition
to a proposed city contract with Veolia Water</span><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">.<span> </span>Two
mayoral candidates on the 3-person board, which considers public contracts,
took opposite sides over the contract, prompting the third member to call for a
public hearing for testimonies from local citizens regarding Veolia. </span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"> </span></font></span></p>
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</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">Contract
opponents lined the halls leading to the mayor’s office, citing <a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=375" target="_blank">Veolia's abysmal record</a> of poor environmental
standards, labor abuses and involvement in human rights abuses in Palestine. <span> </span></span><span style="line-height:115%">Each
held a sign stating “Say No to Veolia” followed by their personal reasons,
which included: “I can’t ride their buses because I am Palestinian,” “I think
all people deserve equal treatment,” “My tax dollars are not for corporate
profit,” “<i>They</i> don’t have to drink <i>our</i> water,” “I love coffee.” </span><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">The mayor’s office had to
change the meeting venue at the last minute to accommodate the large public
turnout. [<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/62645835@N05/sets/72157632575788674/" target="_blank">Click
here for photos.</a>]</span><span style="line-height:115%"></span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"> </span></font></span></p>
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</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">The <a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/" target="_blank">St. Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee</a> (PSC)
learned of the proposed $250,000 Veolia contract for a four-month consultation
for the St. Louis Water Division in December 2012 after <a href="http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2012/12/veolia_water_st_louis_water_division_contract.php" target="_blank">the
story was leaked</a> to the <i>Riverfront
Times</i>. <span> </span>When the contract came up for
approval, PSC organized in less than 24 hours a grassroots effort to tell the E&A
Board, which is comprised of St. Louis City Mayor Francis Slay, Comptroller
Darlene Green and President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis Reed (running for
mayor against Slay), not to approve the contract without investigating Veolia's
record.<span> </span></span><span style="line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=385" target="_blank"><span style="background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">At the December 19, 2012 meeting of the Board</span></a></span><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">, the Board agreed they could
not in good conscience vote to approve a contract with so many allegations
outstanding. </span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"> </span></font></span></p>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">Immediately, the PSC reached
out to diverse communities to join the fight against Veolia, </span><span style="line-height:115%">all under
the coalition </span><span style="line-height:115%"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/StLouisDumpVeolia" target="_blank"><span>St.
Louis Dump Veolia</span></a></span><span style="line-height:115%;color:rgb(34,34,34)">.<span>
</span></span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"> </span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%">The
contract was reintroduced last-minute to the January agenda by Mayor Slay, the contract’s
chief proponent.<span> </span>Slay had <a href="http://www.usmayors.org/usmayornewspaper/documents/09_24_07/pg10_St_Louis_water.asp" target="_blank">received
a trophy and award check</a> for $15,000 from the President of Veolia Water in
2007, on behalf of the City.<span> </span>Following
mass mobilization by the coalition, Mayor Slay decided one day before the January
meeting to remove the contract from the agenda, delaying the vote for a second
month. <span> </span></span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"> </span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"> </span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%">In the
presence of an uncharacteristically large audience and media presence, the two
mayoral candidates Slay and Reed came head-to-head in tense disputes regarding agenda
items, transforming the meeting into what some coined an “ad-hoc mayoral
debate.”<span> </span>President Reed ended by
praising the public showing and affirming his opposition to the Veolia contract,
while Slay stressed that the public had misconceptions about the company.<span> </span></span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"> </span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%">Comptroller Green,
who holds the deciding vote, said she hoped the public’s voices could be heard
and asked for a public hearing.<span> </span></span><span style="line-height:115%">The PSC
delivered and posted letters to Comptroller Green asking her to reject Veolia
from the<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span><a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=389" target="_blank">Palestinian Freedom Riders</a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">, </span><a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=396" target="_blank">Boycott
from Within</a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span>and the<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span><a href="http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=394" target="_blank">Civic
Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem</a><span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)">.<span> </span><br>
<br>
</span></span><span style="line-height:115%;color:rgb(34,34,34);background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"></span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">Veolia
has been a major focus of the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
movement for Palestinian freedom and equality.<span>
</span></span><span style="line-height:115%">The St. Louis campaign against Veolia may be the
first time that a BDS campaign has entered <span>mainstream political discourse and, perhaps, a mayoral race.</span>
Media coverage in the<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></span><span style="line-height:115%"><a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/nick-pistor/article_20ca3e1e-bfa9-5a42-be78-728372f30fd3.html#.UPdPG0v2l9M.twitter" target="_blank"><i><span>St.
Louis Post-Dispatch</span></i></a></span><span style="line-height:115%;color:rgb(34,34,34)">, </span><span style="line-height:115%">the<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></span><span style="line-height:115%"><a href="http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2012/12/committee_halts_veolia_water_contract.php" target="_blank"><i><span>Riverfront
Times</span></i></a></span><span style="line-height:115%;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span><span style="line-height:115%">and<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></span><span style="line-height:115%"><a href="http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/concerns-over-veolia-corporate-behavior-delays-city-water-contract" target="_blank"><span>St. Louis Public Radio</span></a></span><span style="line-height:115%;color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span><span style="line-height:115%">acknowledge
that Veolia's contracts in Israel/Palestine have been instrumental in bringing
the controversy out in the open. </span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"> </span></font></span></p>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">The
nationwide<span style="color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></span><span style="line-height:115%"><a href="http://wedivest.org/" target="_blank"><span style="background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">We Divest Campaign</span></a></span><span style="line-height:115%;color:rgb(34,34,34);background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"> </span><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">targets Veolia for divestment from the holdings of financial
services giant, TIAA-CREF.<span> </span>St.
Louis-area resident and PSC member, Steve Tamari, is the lead filer for a nationwide,
broad-based shareholders' resolution calling for </span><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">divestment from Veolia and other companies that profit
from Israel’s human rights abuses. Individuals holding a CREF account are
encouraged to sign on to the<span> </span><a href="http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/301/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=7245" target="_blank">shareholders'
resolution</a><span> and to vote in support of the
resolution </span></span><span style="line-height:115%">before or
at the July 2013 annual meeting.</span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"> </span></font></span></p>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">St. Louis Dump Veolia is
committed to keeping up the pressure on City Hall until the Veolia contract is
rejected once and for all. The PSC will be mobilizing residents to testify at
the hearing, putting the Israeli occupation, and its corporate enablers, on
trial for all to see.</span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"> </span></font></span></p>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%">The next E&A meeting will occur on
Wednesday, February 20 at 2pm in St. Louis City Hall.</span></font></span></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:115%;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;vertical-align:baseline"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"> </span></font></span></p>
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font>
</font></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%">To follow developments and action
items on the campaign, join the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StLouisDumpVeolia" target="_blank">St. Louis Dump Veolia</a> and
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/stlpsc/?ref=ts&fref=ts" target="_blank">Palestine
Solidarity Committee</a> Facebook pages, and <a href="https://twitter.com/stlpsc" target="_blank">follow @stlpsc</a> on Twitter.</span></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white">
<br>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"></span></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"><font>
</font></span></font></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;background:none repeat scroll 0% 0% white"><i><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"><font>Photos attached: <br>
</font></span></font></span></i></p><ul><li><i>PSC members and legendary civil
rights activist <a href="http://www.rivercityexaminer.com/percy.html" target="_blank">Percy Green</a> at St. Louis City Hall, protesting Veolia's
involvement in apartheid and segregation in Palestine <br><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"></span></font></span></i></li><li><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font><span style="line-height:115%"><i><font>Palestinian rights organizers; environmental activists; civil rights
leaders; local business owners; students; members of the local Muslim,
Christian, and Jewish communities; and others gathered at St. Louis City Hall to protest Veolia.</font></i></span></font></span></li></ul><a href="http://www.addtoany.com/share_save?linkurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmondoweiss.net%2F2013%2F01%2Fslpsc.html&linkname=BDS%20breakthrough%21%20Veolia%20campaign%20enters%20mainstream%20political%20discourse%20as%20mayoral%20candidates%20take%20sides%20over%20contract%21" target="_blank">Click here to share this announcement on Facebook and Twitter.</a><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><span><font color="#888888">
</font></span></font></span></div></div></div><div><br></div>-- <br>Robert Naiman<br>Policy Director<br>Just Foreign Policy<br><a href="http://www.justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">www.justforeignpolicy.org</a><br><a href="mailto:naiman@justforeignpolicy.org" target="_blank">naiman@justforeignpolicy.org</a><br>