Agrexco blockaded at Belgian airport - Campaign against imports from the Israeli settlements to Europe

On February 11, 2011, a group of Belgian peace activists blocked the entrance of the Israeli company Agrexco’s distribution centre at Liège Airport. The activists protested against the import of agricultural goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories. The settlements are in violation of international humanitarian law. Agrexco facilitates the economical growth of the settlements by exporting their agricultural produce to the worlds markets. The activists were aiming to prevent Agrexco from distributing its products on the European markets via Liège airport.

The blockade of Agrexco

The activists chained themselves to the entrance of the distribution centre LACHS at Liège Airport, in order to block the trucks coming to collect Agrexco products.
They demand guarantees that products traded by Agrexco, do not originate from the illegal settlements. As long as the company refuses to give this guarantee, the government should put a halt to the unethical trade of agricultural goods from Israel.

The campaign ‘War Start Here!’

The Belgian peace movements Vredesactie and Action pour la Paix urge the government to take action against companies who contribute to war crimes. They call on citizens to file a complaint against Agrexco and their partners and provide everyone with the tools to do this via their website (http://www.vredesactie.be). On May 14, 2011, they are organising a National Complaint Day, during which, in more than 10 Belgian cities, groups of people will simultaneously file a complaint against Agrexco. This complaint action is part of the campaign ‘War Starts Here!’, which aims to reveal the economical links with wars, and show how armed conflicts can be prevented or solved by non-military means.

Agrexco is Israel’s main exporter of vegetables, herbs, fruit, flowers and wine to Europe. The Company is partly owned by the Israeli government. The goods are flown in by the Israeli company Cargo Air Lines (CAL) and distributed by Liège Air Cargo Handling Services (LACHS), a daughter company of Agrexco and CAL. LACHS is responsible for the distribution from Belgium to other European countries, and has its headquarter at Liège Airport.

A number of the products distributed by Agrexco are grown in the illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. This trade is highly controversial because of the role settlements play in Israel’s occupation policy.

One of the activists asks: “The flowers we buy here are grown on stolen land, and watered from resources which belong to the original inhabitants of the occupied territories. Do we really want to support these practices by allowing Agrexco to sell these products to us?”

For pictures of the action:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vredesactie
More information: http://www.vredesactie.be