CALL FOR ACTION
REFUSE THE INSTALLATION
OF THE ISRAELI COMPANY
AGREXCO IN SETE !
Not a single euro of
public money should be
used against the
Palestinian people !
Support the creation of
jobs that respect
Palestinian rights and
protect Languedoc
farmers
In the middle of the war
against the population
of Gaza last January,
Georges Frêche,
President of the
Languedoc-Roussillon
region, announced, on
behalf of the whole
Regional Council, the
setting-up of the
Israeli company AGREXCO
in Sète harbour with
wholesale promises of
job creations and
regional grants.
Incorporating this move
within a 200 million
euro investment plan for
the next 10 years, he
pledged – in a context
of upcoming regional
elections – the creation
of 200 jobs and 500,000
tonnes of additional
traffic. Even though
this was obviously a
media coup, the facts
are that the Italian
harbour operator, the GF
Group, won the call for
tender for exploiting a
new fruit transit
terminal and a container
terminal at “Port Sud de
France” (the new name of
Sète harbour according
to Frêche), and that
Agrexco won the call for
tender for the export of
fruits and vegetables
and signed an agreement
with the Regional
authorities. Together
with widely publicized
visits of top managers
from these two groups to
France and of that of
Frêche to Israel,
everything indicates
that this is an ongoing
process and that burying
one’s head in the sand
will have serious
consequences.
THE ANTI-HUMAN RIGHTS
POLICY OF THE STATE OF
ISRAEL CONDEMNED BY THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
In 2002, the European
Parliament voted for the
freezing of Europe’s
Association Agreements
with Israel, due to
Israel’s failure to
respect Human Rights, in
Palestine but also in
Israel with respect to
Israeli Arabs.
On 4 December 2008,
underlining the
persistence of the
problem, most members of
the European parliament
voted against the
“upgrade” of the
Association Agreements
with Israel.
THE COLONIALIST POLICY
OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL
CONDEMNED BY
INTERNATIONAL BODIES
In July 2004, the
International Court of
Justice (ICJ) condemned
the building of the WALL
on Palestinian territory
and called for its
demolition.
In December 2008, the
President of the UN
General Assembly, Miguel
d’Escoto Brockmann,
asked the UN to qualify
Israel’s policy as
‘Apartheid’ and issued a
call to support the
non-violent campaign of
Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions against
Israel.
GAZA: ISRAEL’S CRIMINAL
POLICY CONDEMNED BY
PEOPLES OF THE WORLD
1414 killed, among them
313 children, 6000
wounded in 22 days, an
overwhelming majority of
civilians among them and
the targeted destruction
of homes, health and
education facilities,
agricultural land, etc.
Millions of people
demonstrated to denounce
Israeli army war crimes.
Richard Falk, UN
observer for Human
Rights in the Occupied
Territories since 1967,
claimed at the end of
the war that the weapons
used and the attacks
against civilians
established that:
“Israeli reliance on a
military approach to
defeat or punish Gaza
was intrinsically
“criminal”, and as such
demonstrative of both
violations of the law of
war and the commission
of crimes against
humanity.”
AGREXCO, A DIRECT TOOL
OF AGRICULTURAL
COLONIZATION
Out of respect for Human
Rights, on moral grounds
and justice and for the
decisions taken by
international bodies,
the above reasons would
be enough in themselves
to refuse the
establishment of any
Israeli company in Sète
or anywhere else, since
all Israeli companies
profit, directly or not,
from the colonial
policy, which has been
condemned by
international bodies for
decades!
Furthermore the choice
of AGREXCO (fruits,
vegetables and flowers)
is a caricature since it
is the leading tool of
agricultural
colonization. First, the
company directly applies
the policy of the
Israeli Ministry of
Agriculture, which owns
50% of its shares.
Second, it sells 70% of
the agricultural goods
produced in West Bank
settlements (this was
admitted by the UK
Agrexco director during
a trial in 2006). In
particular, Agrexco
sells the products of
Jordan valley
settlements, where 7,000
settlers have grabbed
95% of the land and 98%
of the water resources,
reducing the Palestinian
farmers to misery or
exile !
THE CHOICE OF AGREXCO
RUNS COUNTER TO ETHICAL
AND HUMAN RIGHTS VALUES
Would one have accepted
during the 70’s, during
the darkest years of
South African Apartheid
– for the sole sake of
creating jobs – the
establishment of the
“Outspan” company,
creating an inlet for
“Outspan” oranges, the
symbol of a worldwide
rejection of Apartheid ?
For us the situation
calls for the same
political pressure to be
brought to bear! This is
why we are supporting
the “BDS call” launched
by 171 Palestinian
organizations in July
2005 to reject this
settlement.
Yes, the question of
employment is a vital
issue, but our concern
for Sète harbour jobs
and activities also
means that we care about
jobs in agriculture.
What would be the
consequences of mass
imports of heavily
subsidized Israeli
fruits and vegetables on
the farming economy in
our region? And
subsequently, what are
the subsequent risks of
food shortages and of
losses of farming
know-how? Should we – on
the pretext of creating
precarious docker jobs
on the unloading quay,
torpedo existing
farmers’ jobs? What is
even worse is that this
would be done with
public money! No, no, a
thousand times, no!
And since the President
of the Regional Council
has announced a 200
million euro investment
plan over 10 years, it
is undoubtedly possible
to set up alternative
projects, which would
create real jobs for
Sète harbour, meshed
with another type of
regional development
more respectful of
agriculture and
infrastructures, and in
agreement with ethical
and human rights values.
We call upon all
organizations, parties,
unions and associations
to join this coalition:
“For jobs that do not
run counter to ethics
and regional
agriculture, against the
installation of AGREXCO
in Sète”.
Press Conference 4 June,
10 am, Espace Martin
Luther King
Rally / Demonstration 25
June, Montpellier ( the
time and place will be
communicated later)
Endorsements:
AFPS (Association France
Palestine Solidarité :
Nîmes 30, Alès-Cévennes
30, 34, 66, )
Alternatifs (30,34),
APJ (Les Américains pour
la Paix et la Justice,
Montpellier)
AP-LR (Association des
Palestiniens
Languedoc-Roussillon)
APTI (Association pour
la Promotion des
Travailleurs Immigrés
30)
ATTAC (Sète Bassin de
Thau)
CAPJPO (Europalestine)
CCIPPP et CCIPPP34
(Campagne Civile
Internationale pour la
Protection du Peuple
Palestinien),
CIMADE,
CMF (Collectif des
Musulmans de France –
Sud),
Comité BDS Montpellier
(Comité Boycott,
Désinvestissement,
Sanctions)
Collectif Palestine
Narbonne,
Confédération Paysanne
Languedoc-Roussillon,
CUALs (Comités Unitaires
pour une Alternative au
Libéralisme : Mtp
Centre, Mtp. Cévennes
Petit Bard, Mtp.La
Paillade, Mèze)
IJAN (Réseau Juif
Antisioniste
International)
Les américains
pour la Paix et la
Justice (Montpellier)
Les Verts
(Languedoc-Roussillon,
Sète),
LDH (Ligue des Droits de
l’Homme, section Alès,
section Montpellier)
MAN (Mouvement pour une
Alternative Non
violente)
MIB (Mouvement
Immigration Banlieues)
NPA ( Nouveau Parti
Anticapitaliste 34)
PARASOL (Palestine,
Résistance, Action
Solidarité),
PCF (Parti Communiste
Français)
Union Syndicale
SOLIDAIRES 34
UJFP (Union Juive
Française pour la Paix –
Languedoc-Roussillon)
Vivre en Paix
