George W. Bush master of ceremony for Iraqi killing fields in Belgium

Gent, Belgium, May 28 2004 - The sun is blazing near one of the main railway stations in Belgium. A bride and groom sit still on a chair with red stained blood running down their white face. They are death. Thirty corpses with white masks wrapped in blankets lay around the just-married couple. Many travellers at the Gent railway station know immediately that this street-theatre is referring to the innocent Iraqi civilians killed during a wedding party by the occupying U.S. forces in Iraq during the night of May 19th 2004.

U.S. President George W. Bush armed with a machine gun and with a big smile walks in between the corpses and stops near a black coffin. The black coffin reminds us of the thousands of Iraqi civilians who are killed by the U.S. led forces. Bush puts his thumbs up and reminds us a group of onlookers that we need to win the war against terrorism: “Please help me win the next presidential elections and I will continue to fight terror. Don’t forget to drink two litres of Coke or Pepsi a day and have your three meals at Mc Donalds. When you need gasoline go for the best and have Esso or Texaco. And of course you should smoke your two packs of Marlboro a day! All these companies give me lots of money and it will help me fight terror.”

With this street-theatre, the Belgian NGO For Mother Earth renews its call to boycott Exxon-Mobil, Chevron-Texaco, Pepsico, Coca Cola Company, Altria (Kraft/Philip Morris) and McDonalds, all corporate sponsors of the George W. Bush election campaign. Flyers of the international Boycott Bush network also remind the public that no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, while the U.S. possesses an estimated 10.600 nuclear warheads.

The peace campaigners denounce the western media, which rarely gives attention to the thousands of Iraqi civilian victims. According to a report from Medact, UK affiliate of IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War), between 7,800-9,600 Iraqi civilians have already been killed since the start of the war in March 2003. The organisation also gives a number for the total of deaths (both citizens and Iraqi soldiers) of between 21,700 and 55,000 for the first six months of the war (1). According to Iraq Body Count there are already between 9187 en 11.046 civilian victims (2). According to the Associated Press news agency, in the month of April 2004 alone 1,200 Iraqi people were killed (3). On May 27 2004, the U.S. counted 805 of its troops amongst the victims of the war.

The peace campaigners do not want to stand on the sidelines and watch the death toll rise. With their action, they want to encourage people to take part in a daily protest against the American occupation of Iraq, through a targeted boycott of six important financial supporters of President Bush’s election campaign. According to the campaign group, the boycott enables people to do something in their daily life against the brutal unilateral politics of Washington. They are part of an international network of NGOs in over 40 countries, which calls for a targeted boycott of six U.S. companies who support the election campaign with large sums of money.

The following companies, targeted for the boycott, are large financial contributors to Republican Party election funds:
Altria (Philip Morris, Marlboro, Kraft) donated $6.530.000
Exxon-Mobil (Esso) donated $2.470.000
Texaco-Chevron donated $2.200.000
Pepsico donated $1.940.000
Coca Cola Company donated $860.000
Mc Donalds donated $640.000

Figures from 2000 to April 2004
Source: Center for Responsive Politics  http://www.opensecrets.org

A recent opinion poll conducted by NOP World shows that U.S. brands are currently suffering around the world due to Bush foreign policy. With the boycott, For Mother Earth wants to support, and increase, this shift away from U.S. products.

The following figures illustrate this trend (Source: De Finaciële Morgen- De Morgen p15, May 11, 2004)

1. Going to McDonalds in 2003 and 2004:

Country _________2003_________ 2004 _________

Germany _________ 43% _________ 34%_________ -9%
India _________ 17%_________ 9% _________ -8%
Egypt _________ 55% _________ 38%_________ -17%
Canada _________ 62% _________ 52%_________ -10%

2. Buying Nike products in 2003 and 2004

Country_________2003_________2004

Germany _________49%_________28%_________-21%
France _________45%_________38%_________-7%
Russia _________20%_________12%_________-8%
China _________19%_________13%_________-6%

These numbers are encouraging for the international boycott campaigners who met for the first time during the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, last January.  http://www.boycottbush.org

And finally: For Mother Earth is urgently seeking financial support to continue the campaign. Money that consumers save on U.S. products are welcome at account number 001-2055174-14 of For Mother Earth with message 'Boycott Bush Campaign'

For Mother Earth started this weekly protest last 14th April 2004. They plan to meet every week between 5 and 6 pm.

(1) Report on civilian victims in Iraq, MedAct
 http://www.medact.org/tbx/pages/sub.cfm?id=775
(2) Iraq Body Count
 http://www.iraqbodycount.net
(3) AP report states at least 1,200 Iraq dead in April 2004
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4031177,00.html

Press contact: Pol D'Huyvetter +32 495-28 02 59
For more information:  http://www.boycottbush.org