Coke: Boycott Continues One Year Later

international | worker & community struggles and protests | news report Tuesday July 20, 2004 14:57 by Lasc - Lasc

Sinaltrainal renews boycott

The boycott which was called last year has been renewed for another year as Coke have not moved on the issue.

THURSDAY 22 JULY 2004 - FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL COCA-COLA BOYCOTT

MAKE YOUR FEELINGS KNOWN


One year ago today, Sinaltrainal (the Colombian Food and Drink Workers Union) called for a boycott of Coca Cola and all its products, in response to a brutal policy of terror and repression that Coca Cola had unleashed against their own workers in Colombia. Since 1994, 8 Coca-Cola workers and Sinaltrainal union leaders have been assassinated by paramilitaries, who the evidence suggests, were hired by Colombia?s Coca-Cola management. Hundreds of other workers and union members have been imprisoned, tortured, threatened, disappeared or forced into exile.

The first year of the boycott has been a success in many ways. Individuals and social and trade union organisations all around the world have pledged their support of the boycott (including the Scottish Socialist Party and Unison in the UK). However Coke have refused to abandon their hard line, have refused to negotiate with Sinaltrainal, and the repression against the workers has continued. Since the boycott started on 22 July 2003,

* Coke workers in Colombia had to go on hunger strike to fight mass sackings.
* Union Vice President Juan Carlos Galvis was injured in an assassination attempt.
* Union leader Luis Eduardo Garcia?s son escaped from a paramilitary kidnap.
* 4 members of union leader Efrain Guerrero?s family were slaughtered in their beds by paramilitaries
* Coke launched their seventh libel case against a Sinaltrainal leader.

When the union launched the boycott campaign, they knew there would be a price to pay, and are relying on international support and solidarity to see them through to the end of their fight for justice. We have a moral obligation to support the workers of Sinaltrainal.

SEND PROTEST MESSAGES THIS THURSDAY

On 22 July this year, please send messages of protest to Coca-Cola (an example is included). Fax, email or telephone (or all 3) to make your feelings known.

The addresses are: Tim Wilkinson Director of Public Affairs and Communications Coca-Cola GB. Telephone (020) 8237 3000 Fax (020) 8237 3700. E-mail twilkinson@eur.ko.com

In Ireland Coca Cola Ireland
Telephone 01 6694201
Fax 01 6613206
Freephone 1800317318
Dear Coca- Cola,

The International Boycott of all your products has been going for one year, and people across the world now know about Coca-Cola?s crimes in Colombia. However, I am very worried that instead of negotiating with Sinaltrainal, Coca-Cola seems to have increased the repression against their Colombian workers. I will continue to boycott all your products, until Coca Cola has


* Mitigated the pain of the victims by making reparations for damage caused.
* Publicly recognise that it benefited from crimes carried out by paramilitaries against Coke workers.
* Committed itself to not making any new attacks on the workers, and hand over to justice those criminals who carried out attacks on their behalf.
* Negotiated with the union, a code of conduct to safeguard workers? lives, in the presence of international observers.

Yours Sincerely