Make Eircom Say No to Amdocs: Symbolic protest and petition hand in

national | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Friday June 26, 2009 22:05 by Wordsmith Kev – IPSC (pers cap) and images by Paula Geragh

Palestine solidarity activists call on Eircom not to collaborate with Apartheid Israel.

At 4.30pm on Friday 26th June, politicians Chris Andrews TD (FF), Mary Lou McDonald (SF), Proinsias De Rossa MEP (Lab) and Cllr. Richard Boyd Barrett (PBPA) handed in a petition to Eircom Headquarters calling on Eircom not to sign a proposed deal with an IBM-led consortium which includes the Israeli telecommunications billing company Amdocs. Signatures to the petition were collected by the Irish Anti War Movement (IAWM) and the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), online and on the streets.

The hand-in was preceded by a spirited symbolic demonstration by supporters outside the Eircom building. There was chanting of pro-Palestinian slogans, calls for Eircom not to sign the contract, and plenty of beeps of support.

IPSC spokesperson Kevin Squires said: “The petition calls on Eircom plc to listen to the call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) emanating from Palestinian civil society, and to refuse to enter into a contract in which one of the partners will be the Israeli company Amdocs. We believe that it would be a major boost to Israel’s prestige – in the wake of the invasion of Gaza which left over 1,400 Palestinians dead - for any consortium that includes Amdocs to receive this Eircom contract, especially given that Amdocs has declared its support for the so-called 'security' policies of the Israeli state.”

He continued: “Unfortunately, Eircom have not been forthcoming with information about the status of this proposed contract with the consortium, however by handing in this petition we intend to make them aware of the sentiment among the Irish public in favour of divestment from Israeli companies.”

He concluded: “We would urge Eircom to look at the recent example of Veolia who have pulled out of operations in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank as a result of European-wide public campaigns against their collaboration with Israel. For Eircom to be seen to be in cahoots with Israel will only reflect badly on their own operations. Israel must understand that the there cannot be a return to a ‘business-as-usual’ attitude after its massacre in Gaza and ongoing brutal occupation of Palestine. All those who have signed the petition are calling upon Eircom to show their support for the rule of International Law and respect for human rights by refusing to enter into any contract with Amdocs.”

The IAWM and IPSC would like to thank everyone who turned up, not least Ms. McDonald and Messrs. Andrews, Boyd Barrett and De Rossa.

Notes:

The Palestinian civil society call for an international campaign of Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions against Israel has been endorsed by countless international organisations and individuals. In Ireland these include the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, IMPACT, NIPSA, SIPTU, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Irish Anti War Movement. The full text of the BDS call can be read here: http://www.bdsmovement.net/?q=node/52

Amdocs is a provider of software and services for billing, customer relationship management and operations support systems. It is reported as having a turnover of 2.8 billion dollars in 2007, and is a key player in the Israeli economy, encouraged and supported by the Israeli government. Amdocs has over a quarter of its workforce in Israel and has declared its support for the so-called 'security' policies of the Israeli government.

images (c)

http://www.ipsc.ie

http://www.irishantiwar.org

http://www.bdsmovement.net