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Stoppt Connex und Alstom
Connex Sub-Unternehmer der TPG baut die
Apartheidstrassenbahn
Irish
tramline forced to cancel contract with Israeli occupation authorities
in Jerusalem
 Irish
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Friday, August 18,
2006
The
Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) is delighted to announce a
small but significant victory in the international struggle against
Connex and the illegal Israeli tramline being built by them on occupied
Palestinian territory. Connex had been planning to allow the Israeli
staff of an illegal tramline project in occupied Easy Jerusalem to train
on Dublin's Luas light railway.
Connex (who in Ireland now operate under the name Veolia) also runs the
Luas system. The Luas has only been running for a few years and it is
likely that the tramline currently being built by Connex in occupied
East Jerusalem is a near identical system. For this reason,
representatives from Israel had been in negotiations with Veolia Ireland
to have Israeli engineers and drivers trained on the Dublin Luas, with a
view to then operating the illegal tramline in Jerusalem. The training
was due to begin next month, and a contract was being finalised.
But in recent days, Veolia has been forced to cancel the proposed deal
with its Israeli counterpart following pressure from Irish trade union
representatives, in turn responding to overtures from the IPSC.
An IPSC spokesperson stated: "This is a small but significant victory
for the Palestinian right to self-determination. This tramline, like the
Apartheid Wall, is an integral component of Israel's annexation of East
Jerusalem. You would expect a tramline to be fairly innocuous, but the
lesson is no: when you do business with Israel, you invariably do
business with the Occupation. Veolia clearly understand that there is a
growing awareness of this within Irish society. People are realising
that diplomacy has utterly failed to curb Israeli crimes. We must cut
ties with Israel in order to force it to end its Occupation,"
The spokesperson further stated, "Veolia's position, however, is
extraordinary. In cancelling this contract, Veolia acknowledge that the
Israeli line is illegal and unsupportable. Yet it is they who are
building it! The hypocrisy is inexcusable, and their attempts to deny
that they bowed to pressure are laughable. Since the Minister for
Transport and the Railway Procurement Agency have ultimate control over
who runs the Luas, the IPSC now calls on Martin Cullen and the RPA to
cancel Veolia's contract unless they cease building this illegal
tramline on occupied Palestinian territory."
The tramline being built by Connex/Veolia will run between Israeli
settlements in occupied East Jerusalem. The settlements, which have been
built on annexed Palestinian land, are illegal under the 4th Geneva
Convention, and are recognised as such by the Irish government. If
completed, the Israeli tramline will permanently link Jewish-only
settlements such as Pisgat Ze'ev, French Hill, Neve Ya'akov and Gilo, to
Israeli West Jerusalem, thereby cementing Israel's hold on occupied East
Jerusalem, and ensuring that there can never be a Palestinian state.
The IPSC had initially learned that a delegation from Israel was in
Dublin last month to inspect the Luas. Subsequently, it has emeged that
Veolia have hosted three Israeli visits to Dublin in the last eighteen
months. The IPSC will ensure that there will be no further cooperation
between the Dublin Luas and the Jerusalem tram, and indeed we will step
up our campaign for the Irish government to cancel Veolia's contract.
However, the IPSC would also stress that we were completely unaware of
the previous two visits from Israel. We thus urge solidarity campaigns,
in countries where Connex operates, to contact the relevant unions and
determine whether any support or assistance is being given to the
Israeli tramline. Clearly, the Israeli drivers and engineers must get
training from somewhere, and soon, if they are to operate this line in
occupied East Jerusalem. This campaign thus has great potential. If
human rights groups and Palestinian solidarity campaigns can ensure that
no country will train Israeli engineers and drivers, then perhaps we can
help to "derail" this criminal project entirely.
Zusammenfassender Inhalt:
Die Solidaritätskampagne
Irland-Palästina (IPSC) kann einen kleinen, aber bedeutenden Sieg im
internationalen Kampf gegen Connex und den illegalen Bau von
Strassenbahnnetzen in besetztem, palästinensischem Gebiet verzeichnen.
Connex (operiert in Irland unter dem Namen „Veolia Irland“) betreibt
ebenfalls Dublin’s Luas light railway. Das Luas-System ist erst seit ein
paar Jahren in Betrieb und weist ein fast identisches System wie die im
Bau befindlichen Strassenbahnlinien im besetzten Gebiet rund um
Jerusalem auf.
Aus diesem Grund nahmen Vertreter
israelischer Firmen Verhandlungen mit Veolia auf und vereinbarten einen
Transfer von israelischen Mechanikern und Fahrern nach Irland, um sie in
Dublin in Bezug auf ihre Arbeit in den Strassenbahnnetzen rund um
Jerusalem zu schulen. Dieses Training sollte nächsten Monat beginnen. In
den letzten Tagen jedoch musste Veolia dem Druck des irischen
Wirtschaftsverbandes nachgeben und den Vertrag mit Connex – und die
damit verbundene Zusammenarbeit mit Israel – auflösen. Dies ist vor
allem auf die Vorarbeit der Solidaritätskampagne Irland-Palästina und
den öffentlichen Druck in Irland zurückzuführen.
Artikel vom:
18.08.2006
Englischer Volltext (Publikation,
IPSC): PACBI
Irish tramline forced to cancel contract with
Israeli occupation authorities in Jerusalem
Irish
Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Friday, August 18,
2006
The
Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) is delighted to announce a
small but significant victory in the international struggle against
Connex and the illegal Israeli tramline being built by them on occupied
Palestinian territory. Connex had been planning to allow the Israeli
staff of an illegal tramline project in occupied Easy Jerusalem to train
on Dublin's Luas light railway.
Connex (who in Ireland now operate under the name Veolia) also runs the
Luas system. The Luas has only been running for a few years and it is
likely that the tramline currently being built by Connex in occupied
East Jerusalem is a near identical system. For this reason,
representatives from Israel had been in negotiations with Veolia Ireland
to have Israeli engineers and drivers trained on the Dublin Luas, with a
view to then operating the illegal tramline in Jerusalem. The training
was due to begin next month, and a contract was being finalised.
But in recent days, Veolia has been forced to cancel the proposed deal
with its Israeli counterpart following pressure from Irish trade union
representatives, in turn responding to overtures from the IPSC.
An IPSC spokesperson stated: "This is a small but significant victory
for the Palestinian right to self-determination. This tramline, like the
Apartheid Wall, is an integral component of Israel's annexation of East
Jerusalem. You would expect a tramline to be fairly innocuous, but the
lesson is no: when you do business with Israel, you invariably do
business with the Occupation. Veolia clearly understand that there is a
growing awareness of this within Irish society. People are realising
that diplomacy has utterly failed to curb Israeli crimes. We must cut
ties with Israel in order to force it to end its Occupation,"
The spokesperson further stated, "Veolia's position, however, is
extraordinary. In cancelling this contract, Veolia acknowledge that the
Israeli line is illegal and unsupportable. Yet it is they who are
building it! The hypocrisy is inexcusable, and their attempts to deny
that they bowed to pressure are laughable. Since the Minister for
Transport and the Railway Procurement Agency have ultimate control over
who runs the Luas, the IPSC now calls on Martin Cullen and the RPA to
cancel Veolia's contract unless they cease building this illegal
tramline on occupied Palestinian territory."
The tramline being built by Connex/Veolia will run between Israeli
settlements in occupied East Jerusalem. The settlements, which have been
built on annexed Palestinian land, are illegal under the 4th Geneva
Convention, and are recognised as such by the Irish government. If
completed, the Israeli tramline will permanently link Jewish-only
settlements such as Pisgat Ze'ev, French Hill, Neve Ya'akov and Gilo, to
Israeli West Jerusalem, thereby cementing Israel's hold on occupied East
Jerusalem, and ensuring that there can never be a Palestinian state.
The IPSC had initially learned that a delegation from Israel was in
Dublin last month to inspect the Luas. Subsequently, it has emeged that
Veolia have hosted three Israeli visits to Dublin in the last eighteen
months. The IPSC will ensure that there will be no further cooperation
between the Dublin Luas and the Jerusalem tram, and indeed we will step
up our campaign for the Irish government to cancel Veolia's contract.
However, the IPSC would also stress that we were completely unaware of
the previous two visits from Israel. We thus urge solidarity campaigns,
in countries where Connex operates, to contact the relevant unions and
determine whether any support or assistance is being given to the
Israeli tramline. Clearly, the Israeli drivers and engineers must get
training from somewhere, and soon, if they are to operate this line in
occupied East Jerusalem. This campaign thus has great potential. If
human rights groups and Palestinian solidarity campaigns can ensure that
no country will train Israeli engineers and drivers, then perhaps we can
help to "derail" this criminal project entirely.
Zusammenfassender Inhalt:
Die Solidaritätskampagne
Irland-Palästina (IPSC) kann einen kleinen, aber bedeutenden Sieg im
internationalen Kampf gegen Connex und den illegalen Bau von
Strassenbahnnetzen in besetztem, palästinensischem Gebiet verzeichnen.
Connex (operiert in Irland unter dem Namen „Veolia Irland“) betreibt
ebenfalls Dublin’s Luas light railway. Das Luas-System ist erst seit ein
paar Jahren in Betrieb und weist ein fast identisches System wie die im
Bau befindlichen Strassenbahnlinien im besetzten Gebiet rund um
Jerusalem auf.
Aus diesem Grund nahmen Vertreter
israelischer Firmen Verhandlungen mit Veolia auf und vereinbarten einen
Transfer von israelischen Mechanikern und Fahrern nach Irland, um sie in
Dublin in Bezug auf ihre Arbeit in den Strassenbahnnetzen rund um
Jerusalem zu schulen. Dieses Training sollte nächsten Monat beginnen. In
den letzten Tagen jedoch musste Veolia dem Druck des irischen
Wirtschaftsverbandes nachgeben und den Vertrag mit Connex – und die
damit verbundene Zusammenarbeit mit Israel – auflösen. Dies ist vor
allem auf die Vorarbeit der Solidaritätskampagne Irland-Palästina und
den öffentlichen Druck in Irland zurückzuführen.
Artikel vom:
18.08.2006
Englischer Volltext (Publikation,
IPSC): PACBI
Stoppt Connex und Alstom
Connex Sub-Unternehmer der TPG baut die
Apartheidstrassenbahn |
