[Peace] Fwd: CACC press release

[Brian Dolinar]

Coca-Cola Kicked Out of University of Illinois
For Immediate Release (08/06/2007)
 Contacts:
Faiza Zafar [217-3552595]
Shivali Tukdeo [503-8671284]

In another landmark victory for student campaigns against Coca-Cola, the
company has been kicked out of the University of Illinois at Urbana
Champaign. U of I is the third university this summer -- following Smith
College in the U.S. and the Banaras Hindu University in India -- to have
terminated its beverage contract with Coca-Cola. Coalition Against Coke
Contracts (CACC), the group that led the campaign at UIUC, dedicates this
victory to the indomitable fighting spirit of communities ravaged by Coke --
from Colombia to India.

Coca-Cola has been the exclusive beverage provider at the University of
Illinois since 1997. According to the terms of the contract, only Coke
products were sold on campus. Such monopolistic arrangements have been
emblematic of the growing corporatization of education. The contract between
University of Illinois and Coca-Cola received much criticism from students,
faculty, staff and the local community for, among other reasons, the
company's labor & human rights abuse and environmental degradation in India,
Colombia, Indonesia and Turkey.

In Colombia, for instance, Coca-Cola's union busting efforts in
collaboration with the paramilitaries have resulted in the death of eight
union leaders since 1989. Similarly, workers in Coke bottling plants in
Turkey and Indonesia have been routinely subjected to violence and
intimidation upon attempting to unionize. In India, the company is involved
in massive extraction and pollution of ground water. The pollution control
board of Kerala, India, has found out that Coca-Cola is responsible for
dumping toxic waste into the fields and water around its plants. Further,
independent investigations of Coca-Cola products in India have been found to
include high levels of pesticides.

For the past two years, CACC, a student & community group in Champaign
Urbana has forcefully demanded that the University end its business
relationship with Coca-Cola in light of the company's egregious records. It
has further demanded a public statement from the administration regarding,
what has been stated by Chancellor Hermand as "Coca-Cola's recalcitrance" on
the afore-mentioned issues. More than 25 local groups joined the coalition,
holding numerous dialogs with the administration and organizing public
actions. Even as the current contract with Coca-Cola expired on June 30,
CACC organized "the last day of contract" action that involved soda-tasting
of a range of locally produced beverages.

For the new beverage contract, the University of Illinois has decided to
comply with the State's decision to grant pouring rights to Pepsi. CACC has
always been vocal about supporting local businesses and vendors over big
corporations. The numerous soda-tasting events organized by CACC over the
the past year received an overwhelming response. CACC welcomes the
University's decision not to do business with Coca-Cola and hopes that the
retail stores outside the contract with Pepsi will take into account the
choice of campus community and provide locally manufactured beverages.

Earlier this year, the Urbana Champaign campus made a historic decision to
put an end to its racist mascot, thanks to a broad-based campus-wide
movement. Non-renewal of the contract with Coca-Cola is another step toward
creating a progressive campus. CACC hopes that the University administration
will take affirmative steps toward making sure that it does not enter into
business relationships with corporations that have no respect for human and
labor rights. Finally, the inclusion of progressive student groups in
long-term decision making would be a positive way of achieving this.


-- 
Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.
303 W. Locust St.
Urbana, IL 61801
briandolinar at gmail.com
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