Church of England divests U.S. bulldozer Inc.Summary: The Church of England Church of England: see England, Church of. announced Monday it had withdrawn its investments in a controversial company over the weekend following a threat by a group of vicars to publish a letter denouncing the The Church of England announced Monday it had withdrawn its investments in a controversial company over the weekend following a threat by a group of vicars to publish a letter denouncing the Church's investment, but denied there were any political or ethical consideration in what it called an economically informed decision. The Church of England said Monday that it withdrew Au2.2 million ($3.3 million) from Caterpillar Inc. in late December 2008 because of economic considerations. Israel used bulldozers bought from the U.S.-based manufacturer of construction and mining equipment to demolish Palestinian homes. News of the church's divestment came late Saturday just in time to prevent the planned publication of a letter in the Guardian signed by 23 theologians accusing the Church of England of not acting on its policy to promote morally and ethically responsible investments. "We believe that given the events in Gaza as well as the continued illegal occupation of whole swathes of Palestinian land and the illegal land grabs by settlers, supported by the Israeli Government, that the Church of England must make good on its policy of disinvestment Disinvestment 1. The action of an organization or government selling or liquidating an asset or subsidiary. Also known as "divestiture". 2. A reduction in capital expenditure, or the decision of a company not to replenish depleted capital goods. Notes: 1. and withdraw its investments from those who profit form the misery of millions of Palestinians immediately," the unpublished letter stated. But the church denied it had withdrawn investment for political or ethical reasons and said the timing of the announcement was coincidental. "The holding status was made public when (the Church was) asked," church spokesperson Steve Jenkins told AlArabiya.net. "The Church of England withdrew shares it held in Caterpillar for purely investment reasons." He added that the Church sold its shares in Caterpillar late December "on investment grounds," explaining that the church's investment bodies is charged with making investment decisions and takes into account the recommendations of the ethical advisory group. Activists say otherwise Activists, however, believed the church's last minute announcement proved it had given into growing pressure for an embargo. "The Church seems very reluctant to promote the implementation of their own policy, and yes they snuck snuck v. Usage Problem A past tense and a past participle of sneak. See Usage Note at sneak. the news out, under the cover of darkness, with little in the way of a fanfare!" Niall Sookoo, media spokesperson for Palestine Solidarity Campaign The Palestine Solidarity Campaign is a campaign in the United Kingdom promoting solidarity with the Palestinian people. It was founded in 1982. The campaign states: , which issued Monday a press release lauding the church's long awaited divestment, told AlArabiya.net. "The Church must be proud of taking such a stance in the name of human rights, not use financial investment considerations as a fig leaf to hide its decision to finally enact the resolution for morally responsible investments," he added. Reverend Gath Hewit chair of Interfaith Group for Morally Responsible Investment (IMRI Imri (ĭm`rī), in the Bible. 1 Judahite. Probably the same as Amariah (8.) 2 Father of a builder of the walls. ) expressed concern over the Church of England's claim that it had divested for economic reasons and not at the Synod's instigation INSTIGATION. The act by which one incites another to do something, as to injure a third person, or to commit some crime or misdemeanor, to commence a suit or to prosecute a criminal. Vide Accomplice. . "I think it is a little bit sad that they quietly removed their holdings presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. to avoid any fuss," he said, adding that members of the General Synod had no news of divestment. "We only heard about this by accident as it was not publicized. It appears to have been done secretly and leaked, then later announced as divestment but not at [our] instigation," he said. Controversial investments The Church of England voted in February 2006 at the General Synod--the legislative body of the Church--to disinvest in companies operating in the Palestinian Occupied Territories that profit from the suppression of human rights, and to uphold "morally responsible investment." The decision came after the Church's Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) issued a report detailing the involvement of Caterpillar's equipment in illegal activity under the Geneva Convention. The U.S.-based manufacturer of construction and mining equipment has been criticized for several years by heavy weight human rights organizations Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as the United Nations for supplying weaponized bulldozers to Israel's military which has used them to raze raze also rase tr.v. razed also rased, raz·ing also ras·ing, raz·es also ras·es 1. To level to the ground; demolish. See Synonyms at ruin. 2. To scrape or shave off. 3. more than 7,000 homes and fields that form Palestinians' livelihood since 1967. Caterpillar has become the central target for growing threats of divestment for supporting the Israeli Defense Forces, especially following the death of Rachel Corrie, a 24-year-old American activist bulldozed to death in 2003 by an IDF-operated Caterpillar D9R armored bulldozer in Gaza. Initial press release Amid growing public protests in Britain since the Gaza offensive, the Palestine Solidarity Campaign has promoted the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) refers to an international economic campaign against Israel. The campaign was initiated by the July 9, 2005, call of 171 Palestinian non-governmental organizations "... campaign, a worldwide civil movement founded in 2005 following a ruling by the International Court of Justice that called Israel's construction of a partition wall illegal In a press release issued over the weekend prior to the Church's announcement Monday, Betty Hunter, General Secretary of Palestine Solidarity Campaign criticized the Church's inaction on divesting from Caterpillar. "The General Synod of the Church of England took a morally courageous decision 3 years ago to disinvest from companies that profited from supplying goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. in the Palestinian occupied territories," she said. "Sadly three years on and the Church of England retains investments of Au2.2 million in a company, Caterpillar, whose bulldozers and heavy machinery is used to extract the legitimate residents of Palestine to be replaced by illegal settlers." Reverend Hewit said that IMRI will continue to campaign for divestments to stop groups and companies from breaking internatiional law. "I have personally seen the damage, the destruction of homes, the building of the Wall in which Caterpillar had been involved. And I know that large number of the Church members felt [Caterpillar] was morally indefensible," he told AlArabiya.net. "Our interest now is to go to Veolia, a company supporting war crimes by helping to build a rail way to Jewish settlements," he said, adding that the Stockholm Council in Sweden already turned down their contract. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion