[Peace-discuss] [Fwd: Worldwide Boycott of US Goods]

[jencart]

Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 17:56:51 -0800
From: Mirra Morrison <mirram at earthlink.net>

Anti-War Protesters Worldwide Boycott American Goods

Anti-war activists have extended their protests to a global boycott of  American goods, including Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Marlboro, American  whiskey and even American Express cards.

A growing number of restaurants in Germany are taking everything  American off their menus to protest the Iraq war.

Although the protests are mainly symbolic, waiters in dozens of bars and  restaurants in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Bonn and other German cities are  telling patrons, "Sorry, Coca-Cola is not available any more due to the  current political situation."

One website, www.consumers-against-war.de, calls for boycotts of 27 top  American firms from Microsoft to Kodak while another, www.adbusters.org,  urges the "millions of people against the war" to "Boycott Brand America".

Consumer fury seems to be on the rise.

Demonstrators in Paris smashed the windows of a McDonald's restaurant  last week, forcing police in riot gear to move in to protect staff and  customers of the American fast-food outlet.

The attackers sprayed obscenities and "boycott" on the windows.

In Indonesia, Iraq war opponents pasted signs on McDonald's and other  American food outlets, trying to force them shut by "sealing them" and  urging Indonesians to avoid them.

In the Swiss city of Basel, 50 students staged a sit-down strike in  front of a McDonald's to block customers' entry, waved peace signs and  urged people to eat pretzels instead of hamburgers.

Anti-American sentiment has even reached provinces in Russia, where some  rural eateries put up signs telling Americans they were unwelcome.

In the London suburb of Milton Keynes, the Greens party have called on  consumers to boycott 330 American products ranging from Mars bars to Gap  jeans and American films on DVD and video.

In Zurich, travel agents said some clients who usually take holidays in  the United States are changing their destinations.