Carmel Agrexco and Cargoflora blockaded over Imports of Israeli Flowers
boycott agrexco | 07.02.2010 09:48 | Anti-militarism | Palestine | South Coast | World
Carmel Agrexco and Cargoflora's depots in Hayes Middlesex have been blockaded early this morning. Cargoflora's gates have been blocked by campaigners using D-Locks and superglue while the Agrexco blockaders have used panels of 'Hares' fencing.
Carmel Agrexco is a partly Israeli state owned company, the largest exporter of agricultural produce from illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Cargoflora is a British company whic has, reportedly, been handling Agrexco's cut flowers and which advertises that it imports and provides freight services for Israeli flowers - for mor info on Cargoflora see 
http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=3515 .
Both companies are processing large amounts of Israli flowers, and flowers from the occupied territories this Valentine's period. Israel has eased its siege on Gaza specifically to allow the export of flowers to Europe through Israeli companies, who make a tidy profit out of the captve economy. Roughly 450,000 flowers have been passing through the Gaza crossings each week, bound for the UK, Holland and other parts of Europe. Agrexco's flowers are also sourced from the occupied West Bank.
http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=3515 . Both companies are processing large amounts of Israli flowers, and flowers from the occupied territories this Valentine's period. Israel has eased its siege on Gaza specifically to allow the export of flowers to Europe through Israeli companies, who make a tidy profit out of the captve economy. Roughly 450,000 flowers have been passing through the Gaza crossings each week, bound for the UK, Holland and other parts of Europe. Agrexco's flowers are also sourced from the occupied West Bank.
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Additions
First impressions (personal)
07.02.2010 16:06
The blockades certainly proved the connections between Carmel Agrexco and CargoFlora.
The police maintained a small presence at Carmel- unlike Cargoflora. Presumably as more and more disgruntled drivers could find nowhere to unload, staff at CargoFlora turned nasty.
With police refusing to intervene, staff dragged the first gates open with protesters still D-
locked to them. At the second gate, "supporting" protesters struggled to stop them doing the same- and cutting one of the D-locks- with protester still attached, with bolt croppers.
To start with, the cops stood and watched. Pretty soon though they steamed in and pulled us away from the gate, to let the CargoFlora staff drag the gates open, again with people still delocked on. One of the women was shortly after being checked out in an ambulance with what appeared to be wiplash.
Lorries were filmed arriving at Carmel, and shortly after parking up in CargoFlora.
Some while later, back at Carmel, a very civilised police cutting team chopped Dlocks off those at one gate, and drove off, evidently not bothered the other gate was still blockaded. The action ended shortly after.
No suprise that- as usual -nobody was arrested at Carmel. Significant that the same was unexpectedly true at CargoFlora. Evidently their efforts to avoid having to give disclosure in court continues!
A thoroughly revealing day, if seriously painful and traumatic for some.
The struggle against the importation of goods from the illegal settlements is not going to go away.
The police maintained a small presence at Carmel- unlike Cargoflora. Presumably as more and more disgruntled drivers could find nowhere to unload, staff at CargoFlora turned nasty.
With police refusing to intervene, staff dragged the first gates open with protesters still D-
locked to them. At the second gate, "supporting" protesters struggled to stop them doing the same- and cutting one of the D-locks- with protester still attached, with bolt croppers.
To start with, the cops stood and watched. Pretty soon though they steamed in and pulled us away from the gate, to let the CargoFlora staff drag the gates open, again with people still delocked on. One of the women was shortly after being checked out in an ambulance with what appeared to be wiplash.
Lorries were filmed arriving at Carmel, and shortly after parking up in CargoFlora.
Some while later, back at Carmel, a very civilised police cutting team chopped Dlocks off those at one gate, and drove off, evidently not bothered the other gate was still blockaded. The action ended shortly after.
No suprise that- as usual -nobody was arrested at Carmel. Significant that the same was unexpectedly true at CargoFlora. Evidently their efforts to avoid having to give disclosure in court continues!
A thoroughly revealing day, if seriously painful and traumatic for some.
The struggle against the importation of goods from the illegal settlements is not going to go away.
Ted