[News] Brazilian Government Denies Association with Israeli Security Company over 2016 Olympics Contracts

[Anti-Imperialist News]

  Olympics 2016: Brazilian Government Denies Association with Israeli
  Security Company

author Tuesday May 12, 2015 17:51author by BDS National Commitee
*http://www.imemc.org/article/71555*

    More than 30 Brazilian social movements and progressive
    organisations have called on the Brazilian government to exclude
    International Security and Defence Systems (ISDS) from Olympics
    contracts, after the Israeli company announced, in October of 2014,
    that it had been awarded a $2.2bn deal to coordinate security at the
    games.

The BDS National Comittee <http://www.bdsmovement.net/> recently 
reported that, on April 8, the Ministry of Justice’s Special Secretariat 
for Mega-events (Sesge/MJ) replied to their letter by explaining that 
ISDS has not been awarded any contracts.

The reply from Sesge/MJ also stated that “any contract made by Rio 2016 
won’t result in compromises by the Brazilian government”, a phrase 
campaigners are now interpreting as a clear sign that government 
officials were sympathetic to their demands.

ISDS had originally announced it had been awarded a contract by the 
Organising Committee for the 2016 Olympic Games. When overall 
responsibility for security at the games shifted to the Brazilian 
government, Brazilian social movements began calling on the Brazilian 
government to ensure that the apparent deal would not remain in place.

The letter to key Sesge/MJ official Andrei Rodrigues signed by Brazilian 
social movements, political parties, workers unions, and different 
associations set out how ISDS is accused of having ties to coups, death 
squares and dictatorships in Central America, as well as close links 
with the Israeli military.

Campaigners are now preparing to pressure the Olympics Committee to 
cancel a separate “official supplier” deal with ISDS.

Furthermore, Jaman Juma, coordinador of the Stop the Wall movement, said:

“For us, boycotting this company is paradigmatic: Israel develops its 
methodologies and technologies through the killing and repression of the 
Palestinian people, and then it sells them worldwide. The end of 
military and security relations with Israel is an act of defense. Not 
only for the Palestinian people, it is an act of defense for humanity.”

Julio Turra, executive director of the biggest Brazilian workers’ union, 
CUT, one of the signatories of the letter to Coesrio2016, said:

“We are glad with the information the government distances itself from 
ISDS. It would be illegal and shameful to hire a company that develops 
its technologies in complicity with Israeli crimes and that accumulates 
complaints about its participation in Central American dictatorships.”

Mahmoud Nawajaa, General Coordinador of the BDS Palestinian National 
Committee (BNC), said:

“We welcome the fact that the Brazilian government categorically states 
it has no commercial relation with ISDS. We expect that no similar 
company will be hired. It is important that Brazil walks towards a fully 
military embargo against Israel.”

“Brazilians can be sure they will have the support from the Palestinian 
and international civil society on this campaign against ISDS in the 
Olympic Games.”

As for future actions, Soraya Misleh, from the Front in Defense of the 
Palestinian People explained:

“There will be a wide campaign against the contract celebrated with the 
2016 Organizing Committee which makes ISDS an ‘official supplier’ for 
the Games. We won’t allowed the Olympic Games in our country to have 
such company’s logo in its publicity. It is an insult against all those 
who believe in human rights and justice.”

Maristela Pinheiro, from the Rio de Janeiro Committee in Solidarity with 
the Palestinian People added:

“There will be for sure a strong campaign against the supplier deal 
between ISDS and the 2016 Organizing Committee and we’ll keep monitoring 
Coesrio. The Olympics can’t beneficiate companies that profit through 
human rights violations. The Games can’t be intensifying repressive 
practices in our country, or endorse illegal and immoral actions.”

Felipe Butelli, from the Christian Group Kairos Brazil added:

“The call for military embargo has the support of important 
international names, the Nobel Peace Prize winners Desmond Tutu and 
Perez Esquivel among them. Brazil can’t follow on the opposite direction.”
-- 
Freedom Archives 522 Valencia Street San Francisco, CA 94110 415 
863.9977 www.freedomarchives.org
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