Hundreds Converge in Peoria to Protest Caterpillar Bulldozer Sales to Israeli Occupation.
Author
CIMC
Date Created
28 Apr 2004
Date Edited
28 Apr 2004 11:06:59 PM
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More than 300 protesters converged in Peoria on April 23 to demand that Caterpillar Inc. stop selling armored bulldozers to the Israeli military. Activists charge that the equipment is used to illegally destroy thousands of Palestinian homes, and was used by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza to kill 23-year-old US peace activist Rachel Corrie in March of 2003.
For over a year, activists have been targeting Caterpillar to protest the death and destruction caused by the company's equipment in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. On April 14, several activists attended the CAT stockholders' meeting in Chicago and delivered a letter to CAT CEO James Owens requesting that he meet with a delegation during the April 23 Peoria protest.
In Peoria, protesters used a wooden replica of a D-9 bulldozer to re-enact Corrie's death during a demonstration outside the heavy equipment giant's downtown headquarters, as Caterpillar officials watched from the windows of the seven-story complex. CAT bosses declined to meet with Corrie's parents and protest leaders. Members of the Stop CAT Coalition, which organized the protest, have vowed to step up their campaign against the corporation. Photo Galleries: [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 ] Corporate Press Coverage