News (headlines) Archive - 2003

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United States Vetoes United Nations security council

During a security council meeting on the 16th September, the United States defied the overwhelmingly support of a new resolution demanding that Israel neither harm nor expel the Palestinian authority president, Yasser Arafat. Eleven members gave their backing for the resolution, while Germany, Britain and Bulgaria abstained.

The US justified the vetoed the resolution by saying that the wording of the resolution did not promote the "road map" to peace, which has been backed by them (the US).

The decision to exercise the veto sparked anger among the Palestinians. The authority's chief peace negotiator said he hoped Israel would not take the American action as a "licence to kill" Mr Arafat.

During the discussion on the resolution which took three days all the delegates condemned the comments by the Israelis regarding Mr Arafat.

Fayssal Mekdad, Syria's ambassador to the UN expressed his regret at the result of the voting and said "The fact that the US delegation used its veto is something extremely regrettable. It only complicates a situation in the Middle East that is already very complicated".

"The boycott works" - Bush bad for US business
The Independent UK July 17th 2003

Americans are used to resentment of their global dominance. Since the war on Iraq, however, this hostility has begun to hit them where it hurts: in corporate balance sheets. David Usborne reports on the backlash being felt in the boardrooms everywhere from McDonald's and Nike to Microsoft and Coca-Cola
[ Read the complete article published 17/7/2003 by the lndependent/UK ]

Jakarta Peace Conference call for US boycott

May 21st 2003 Peace and justice activists representing social movements and networks from 26 countries in Asia, Europe, Australia, Africa, Latin and North America, have come together in Jakarta, Indonesia and call for an international boycott of US products on 4 July 2004, the United States independence day and support other initiatives to boycott US products.

The participants came from the following countries: Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, East Timor, France, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

After three days of intense debates and discussions, the participants hammered together the "Jakarta Peace Consensus," a declaration of unity and a specific plan of action which they have agreed to propose to the global peace and justice movements. The Consensus will be translated to Arabic, French, Spanish, Bahasa Indonesian, Italian, etc. and was presented to the next international anti-war meeting in Evian this May 31 2003 They also endorsed the call from the recent Chiapas conference for a "targeted boycott" of Coke, McDonalds, Texaco, CNN, and Fox during a week of protest coinciding with a week of protest against the WTO meeting in Cancun (Mexico). [More Info]

Mayor of Hiroshima calls for a boycott

"The time has come to impose economic sanctions on any nation that insists on maintaining nuclear weapons. The time has come to use demonstrations, marches, strikes, boycotts, and every nonviolent means at our disposal to oppose the destruction of millions of our brothers and sisters, the destruction of our habitat and the extermination of our species. The time has come to fight, nonviolently, for our lives."
Mr. Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima at UN European Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, April 30, 2003 [ Full text of the speech ]

See also Latest News Headlines 2004