Rachel Corrie anniversary memorial at Caterpillar, Solihull - 16th March 2005
Indy Brum Volunteer | 15.03.2005 13:47 | Anti-militarism | Social Struggles | Birmingham
PRESS RELEASE FROM WEST MIDLANDS PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN
Local campaigners for Palestine intend to lay a wreath to commemorate a student activist at the offices of the company implicated in her death.
Local campaigners for Palestine intend to lay a wreath to commemorate a student activist at the offices of the company implicated in her death.
Rachel Corrie was a 23-year-old American student who went to Rafah, Palestine, with the International Solidarity Movement. She was crushed to death on 16th March 2003 as she tried to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian family home. The armoured bulldozer which killed her was manufactured by Caterpillar, an international corporation which has its
European financial heqdquarters in Solihull.
Now members of West Midlands PSC have written to Caterpillar saying that they intend to lay a wreath at their offices on the second anniversary of Rachel's death.
"Human rights campaigners have been asking Caterpillar for years to stop selling these bulldozers to Israel" said Chris Khamis, Chair of West Midlands PSC. "They claim they can't control what their products are used for, but
these are no ordinary bulldozers: they are designed for demolishing houses and ripping up olive trees and have occasionally killed people. Caterpillar are complicit in war crimes."
Eye-witnesses to Rachel's death have described it as "murder" since she was clearly visible to the driver of the bulldozer.
Sue Blackwell, one of the members who wrote to Caterpillar, said, "16th March is my birthday. I will never again be able to celebrate it without thinking of Rachel Corrie. It is our responsibility to keep her memory alive now. If we can persuade Caterpillar to stop selling these machines to Israel
then her death will not have been in vain."
West Midlands PSC has asked to meet with members of the Caterpillar management to talk about Rachel's life and death and explain their concerns about sales to Israel. They are currently awaiting a reply to their letter.
The wreath-laying will take place at approximately 11 am on Wednesday 16th March.
The protest will be followed by a month later by a national demonstration against Caterpillar on 16th April.
NOTES TO EDITORS.
1. Rachel Corrie's memorial website is at:
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/
2. PSC national office is organising a protest motorcade past Caterpillar's Solihull offices on 16th April, to be followed by a rally in Birmingham city centre (Victoria Square) at 2:30pm. This will include a
presentation of evidence and views from the particpants about the many thousands of house demolitions and destruction of olive groves, as well as many injuries and some other deaths from Caterpillar.
For more details call 0207 700 6192.
3. Contacts for West Midlands PSC:
Press Officer - Mary Brennan - 0121 472 6871
mary.brennan@blueyonder.co.uk
Chair - Chris Khamis - 0778 534 2124
Membership Secretary - Willem Meijs - 0121 449 1063
4. The text of the letter sent to Caterpillar is as follows:
Caterpillar Financial Services Ltd,
2405 Stratford Road,
Solihull B94 6NW
8 March 2005
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: Anniversary of Rachel Corrie's death
Two years ago, a 23-year-old American student named Rachel Corrie was
crushed to death as she tried peacefully to prevent the destruction
of a Palestinian family home in the Rafah refugee camp, Gaza.
The bulldozer which killed her was made by your company.
Unfortunately, despite international protests by human rights groups,
your organisation continues to sell the D9 Armored Bulldozer to
Israel, whose government has continued to use it to demolish homes
and agricultural areas in the occupied territories, in contravention
of numerous UN resolutions and international law.
On behalf of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign we are therefore
writing to let you know that a small group of us intend to lay a
wreath at your offices on 16th March, the anniversary of Rachel
Corrie's death. We would like an opportunity to meet with
representatives of the management to talk to them about Rachel's life
and death and to urge Caterpillar to stop doing business with Israel
until it respects the human rights of the Palestinian people.
Yours faithfully,
S.A. Blackwell & W.J. Meijs
On behalf of Westmidlands PSC
[ ends ]
European financial heqdquarters in Solihull.
Now members of West Midlands PSC have written to Caterpillar saying that they intend to lay a wreath at their offices on the second anniversary of Rachel's death.
"Human rights campaigners have been asking Caterpillar for years to stop selling these bulldozers to Israel" said Chris Khamis, Chair of West Midlands PSC. "They claim they can't control what their products are used for, but
these are no ordinary bulldozers: they are designed for demolishing houses and ripping up olive trees and have occasionally killed people. Caterpillar are complicit in war crimes."
Eye-witnesses to Rachel's death have described it as "murder" since she was clearly visible to the driver of the bulldozer.
Sue Blackwell, one of the members who wrote to Caterpillar, said, "16th March is my birthday. I will never again be able to celebrate it without thinking of Rachel Corrie. It is our responsibility to keep her memory alive now. If we can persuade Caterpillar to stop selling these machines to Israel
then her death will not have been in vain."
West Midlands PSC has asked to meet with members of the Caterpillar management to talk about Rachel's life and death and explain their concerns about sales to Israel. They are currently awaiting a reply to their letter.
The wreath-laying will take place at approximately 11 am on Wednesday 16th March.
The protest will be followed by a month later by a national demonstration against Caterpillar on 16th April.
NOTES TO EDITORS.
1. Rachel Corrie's memorial website is at:
http://www.rachelcorrie.org/ 2. PSC national office is organising a protest motorcade past Caterpillar's Solihull offices on 16th April, to be followed by a rally in Birmingham city centre (Victoria Square) at 2:30pm. This will include a
presentation of evidence and views from the particpants about the many thousands of house demolitions and destruction of olive groves, as well as many injuries and some other deaths from Caterpillar.
For more details call 0207 700 6192.
3. Contacts for West Midlands PSC:
Press Officer - Mary Brennan - 0121 472 6871
mary.brennan@blueyonder.co.uk Chair - Chris Khamis - 0778 534 2124
Membership Secretary - Willem Meijs - 0121 449 1063
4. The text of the letter sent to Caterpillar is as follows:
Caterpillar Financial Services Ltd,
2405 Stratford Road,
Solihull B94 6NW
8 March 2005
Dear Sir/Madam,
RE: Anniversary of Rachel Corrie's death
Two years ago, a 23-year-old American student named Rachel Corrie was
crushed to death as she tried peacefully to prevent the destruction
of a Palestinian family home in the Rafah refugee camp, Gaza.
The bulldozer which killed her was made by your company.
Unfortunately, despite international protests by human rights groups,
your organisation continues to sell the D9 Armored Bulldozer to
Israel, whose government has continued to use it to demolish homes
and agricultural areas in the occupied territories, in contravention
of numerous UN resolutions and international law.
On behalf of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign we are therefore
writing to let you know that a small group of us intend to lay a
wreath at your offices on 16th March, the anniversary of Rachel
Corrie's death. We would like an opportunity to meet with
representatives of the management to talk to them about Rachel's life
and death and to urge Caterpillar to stop doing business with Israel
until it respects the human rights of the Palestinian people.
Yours faithfully,
S.A. Blackwell & W.J. Meijs
On behalf of Westmidlands PSC
[ ends ]
Indy Brum Volunteer
Comments
Hide the following 6 comments
One more
15.03.2005 16:37
ex ISM
Feeding the trolls
15.03.2005 18:25
But it doesn't matter what sort of evidence anyone puts in front of you, you're only here for a laugh anyway. If it was a Jew who got run over by a Palestinian, you'd be screaming bloody murder.
David
You are losing
15.03.2005 19:30
No we scream bloody murder when the Palestinians send their poor brainwashed young men and women into Israel to kill themselves in the name of Allah so that some old Mullah can maintain his control over the people.
Or at least we did until the fence was built and that's stopped 90% of the attacks
A jew
rebuttal
16.03.2005 00:36
its people like you and their one track ethnically centred universe that give jews a bad name.
is it the mullahs that brainwash people into blowing themselves up or the grinding poverty, the humiliation of seeing their homes stolen and occupied by fundamentalist jews while they live in shanty towns or perhaps the daily murders like those of muhammad durah and rachel corrie that have brutalised the palestinians into doing what they do in terms of bombing.
anyway there are losts of mullahs who totally condemn suicide bombing - most of my muslim friends hate the idea - but your response is very telling dearest jew. Why can't we jews love our neighbours - the muslim arabs - consider that we share 99% of our genes our culture, our history?!?!?! Instead we treat our neighbours like pigs and consider ourselves to be europeans or americans living in the middle east. just remember abraham is the common father of the arabs and the jews. wouldn't he be turning in his grave if he could see what we get up to now?
a jewess
Not all Jews are zionists!
16.03.2005 16:46
By committing attrocities daily like the mass murder and displacement of the (Semitic may I remind you) Palestinian people, and MURDER of peaceful protesters like Rachel Corrie, Israel is fanning the flames of anti-Semitism! More on how zionism promotes anti-Semitism:
My highest respect goes out for the courage and valour of Rachel Corrie and my deepest sympathies for her family!
anti Zionist Jew
Homepage:
http://www.jewsagainstzionism.com
Not all Jews are Zionist.
16.03.2005 21:26
"The U.S. government...issued a warrant for his [Fischer's) arrest. For the next twelve years, Fischer was a fugitive, albeit a wealthy one. He was heard from only rarely, when he called talk radio stations in Hungary and the Philippines. In one broadcast chat, he described himself as a victim of an international Jewish conspiracy (though Fischer's mother is Jewish, and he was raised in a Jewish neighborhood with Jewish friends). In other calls, he denied the Holocaust and celebrated the masterminds of September 11.
"I applaud the act. The U.S. and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians, just slaughtering them for years. Robbing them and slaughtering them. Nobody gave a shit. Now it's coming back to the U.S. Fuck the U.S. I want to see the U.S. wiped out."
A Jew cast in the Indymedia mould.
No to Zionism! Say it with Bobby! No to Zionism! Kill Joooos!
G. Kasparov