CRH must answer questions on Palestine Wall

international | anti-war / imperialism | press release

Wednesday May 05, 2004 19:19

by Claudia Bradshaw - Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign

supportpalestine at ireland dot com

IPSC, PO BOX 9124, Dublin 1

087 6242286

Protesters handed out flyers to shareholders of the Irish construction firm Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH) today, as they made their way in to the company’s AGM.

CRH own a 25% stake in the Mashav Group, an Israeli holding company for Nesher Cement, who are the sole producers of cement in Israel.

Protesters claimed that cement from the company is being used in the construction of the separation wall, currently being built by Israel in the West Bank. Given Nesher’s monopoly position in the region, Amnesty International earlier this year also raised questions as to the company’s involvement in the construction of the wall *.

The wall, which is 8 metres high in places, encircles Palestinian towns and villages and cuts through some of the most fertile Palestinian agricultural lands. The West Bank city of Qalqilya, with over 45,000 inhabitants, has been completely surrounded by the wall with only one gateway in or out, which is controlled by Israeli troops.

A spokesperson for the IPSC said, “It is shameful that an Irish company should profit from something that is so unjust, so immoral and causing so much destruction. This wall is cutting communities off from each other and their land, and some towns like Qalqilya are completely imprisoned. It is ripping families apart because those left on the wrong side are completely stranded.”

“If CRH do have any involvement at all with the building of this wall, or with the construction of any of the illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land, then the only moral option would be for them to cease doing so and to divest from these Israeli companies immediately.”

A shareholder at the AGM asked about CRH’s involvement with the wall in the occupied Palestinian West Bank and noted that according to their annual report, “Cement demand in Israel was reduced, but the market in the West Bank and Gaza improved”.

The protest at the CRH AGM comes a day after solidarity activists handed in a petition to the Irish government calling for sanctions against Israel if human rights abuses and the construction of the wall are not stopped. The petition was signed by 275 European politicians and backed by 52 Irish parliamentarians from all parties.

* The Amnesty International press release can be viewed at:
http://www.amnesty.ie/user/content/view/full/1624

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Comments (11 of 11)

CRH Make Concrete

by Its a Fence

Wed May 05, 2004 20:00

Since the barrier is 93%fence what on earth is the point of hassling CRH?
Any company which helps save civilians lives by blocking terrorist sniper fire should be supported by all. In fact they should be recommended for a humanitarian award for all the lives that have been saved in recent months

the Wombles

by journalist (investigative) [committed] {freelance} - (respected) [getting a BIG feature soon] (liberal)

Wed May 05, 2004 21:18

did it.

Please don't lie...

by David C.

Wed May 05, 2004 21:23

Its not a 'barrier'. Its not a 'fence'. Its a wall. A concrete wall. A permanent concrete wall.

Its purpose is not to 'block' terrorist sniper fire. Its purpose is consolidate stolen land.

Please don't lie...

Please don't steal other people's land....

Fence, wall or a bit of both?

by R. Isible

Wed May 05, 2004 21:32

Its a Fence wrote a comment titled "CRH Make Concrete" and said: "Since the barrier is 93%fence what on earth is the point of hassling CRH?"

Maybe the other 7% is made of concrete which the part-CRH-owned company produces. Do you deny that? How do fence posts stay in holes in the ground? Do they have concrete bases possibly? Concrete which CRH has had a stake in producing. Are there parts of the fence/walll which are all concrete wall and other parts which are fence?

If you're going to tell me not to protest this then you'd better have believable answers to those questions.

Its a Fence then went on to assert: "Any company which helps save civilians lives by blocking terrorist sniper fire should be supported by all."

But what about companies that help to build walls which steal land from people in support of an explicitly apartheid policy which is condemned by all countries except the USA and Israel? Shouldn't they be tried for their part in assisting a regime which is unjust, inhumane and criminal? You should note that many Isrealis are against the Apartheid "Fence" being constructed because they know that it's part of the problem that creates terrorism.

Can't you read? IT'S A WALL.

Wed May 05, 2004 22:49

It's 100% concrete, including permanent, deep foundations, etc. That's why it costs $4 million per mile.

Anyone who calls this a 'fence' is either a liar or is ignorant. The $800 million/yr Israeli media-manipulation machine is very, very sophisticated, however calling a wall that can be seen plainly 'a fence' doesn't take much to disprove.

This is a wall, as in 'Berlin Wall'. Its made of the same stuff too. Concrete.

Comments

by Its a fence

Thu May 06, 2004 09:44

Has no-one anything useful to say about the huge decrease in terror attack in recent weeks due to the effectiveness of the barrier?

last week alone 11 genocide bombers were caught before they could act.

Even fences require concrete!

by kokomero

Thu May 06, 2004 10:03

Fences require a concrete foundation so CRH are guilty as charged whether the wall is partly a fence or not. Boycott CRH! Write to their directors whose addresses were published previously on this forum! Picket their AGM. Write to your TDs. If you or anybody you know has a pension or insurance write to the pension company demanding that they divest immediately from CRH unless they pull the plug on the wall. Remember these tactics worked recently for the national womens council who forced BOI to withdraw financing from a porn-publishing company!

CRH

by neil

Wed May 26, 2004 12:50

Blaming CRH in any way for its "role" in the construction of this wall is ridiculous. I, for the record, am strongly pro-palestinian. What people are talking about here is akin to blaming Austria for Hitler. Israel is responsible for the wall. Full stop.

Follow the money

by Joe

Wed May 26, 2004 12:57

"Israel is responsible for the wall" CRH is making millions from it. Without the concrete the wall cannot be built and CRH don't make the millions. Simple really

adam

by adam fenton - none

Sun Sep 25, 2005 21:33

fentimans at hotmail dot com

neil of CRH, if you are pro Palestinian, then why not donate some of the money made from providing the concrete to build this wall, towards the Palestinian cause

Tackling the cause of the causes

by Noel

Mon Sep 26, 2005 14:34

Perhaps the wealthy Palestinians making the most from the wall could help fund the Palestinian cause too.

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CRH must answer questions on Palestine Wall

Comments (11 of 11)