Day of Action Against Caterpillar
by Alice
Zillah
Over 100 people gathered on the sidewalk outside of the Harnish Group
Tukwila headquarters
on April 13, the International Day of Action Against Caterpillar.
Caterpillar equipment is
used by the government of Israel to demolish Palestinian homes
and communities. The
Harnish Group, with revenues of $450 million from sales and rentals
in 2004, is the
largest distributor of Caterpillar equipment in Washington. The Harnish
Group has ignored
calls to ask the Caterpillar Board of Directors to cease sales to the
Israeli military.
Members of the Green Party, Veterans for Peace, Olympia-Rafah
Sister City Project, Code
Pink, Olympia Friends Meeting, Fellowship of Reconciliation,
Vancouver (WA) for Peace, the
Palestinian Solidarity Movement/Seattle, Olympia Movement
for Justice and Peace and other
groups participated. A large art installation symbolized
the rubble of a Palestinian
family's home. Huge banners and signs told drivers passing on
the busy street what the
action was about.
The Harnish Group continued their
pattern of refusing to dialog. Four people intended to
enter the office and request a
meeting, but were told by the police that Harnish would ask
for us to be arrested if we
even stepped foot on their property. Throughout the hour and
a half demonstration, a
Harnish employee videotaped us from the box of a crane fifty feet
away.
Lin
Nelson and Pete Bohmer, both faculty at the Evergreen State College, and Phan
Nguyen,
International Solidarity Movement activist, spoke eloquently about the destruction
caused
by Caterpillar bulldozers and the ways that we can get the company to stop its
sales to
the Israeli military. Jim Page performed several songs including the haunting
"I'd Rather
Be Dancing," written for Rachel Corrie. Holly Gwin Graham performed as well,
leading the
crowd in sing-alongs directed to Harnish executives.
The campaign
against Caterpillar will continue, as activists reach out to unions and
construction
companies to let them know that supporting Caterpillar means supporting
misery and
injustice in the Occupied Territories. To keep informed about the campaign,
visit
www.orscp.org
regularly.
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