Veolia Abandons Jerusalem Light Rail Project under Political Pressure

Photo Les Blough www.axisoflogic.com

Victory!  Veolia Abandons Jerusalem Light Rail Project under Political Pressure

by Omar Barghouti

In the first smashing and convincing victory of the global BDS movement in the field of corporate responsibility and ethical compliance, Veolia is reportedly abandoning the Jerusalem Light Rail project, an illegal project that aims at connecting Israeli colonies built on occupied Palestinian territory to the city of Jerusalem.

As the Haaretz article below^* admits, the BDS campaign’s success in costing Veolia some $7 billion worth of contracts is the key behind this decision by the troubled company to pull out of the project.

It is worth mentioning that Le Monde has recently published an expose, revealing to French readers and, crucially, to Veolia’s stock holders the fact that the company is losing a lot of money because of its complicity in a project that constitutes a major violation of international law, if not a war crime.

This great victory came as a result of years of hard, principled, meticulous and persistent work by French solidarity groups, particularly AFPS; by the growing French BDS movement which was instrumental in making Veolia lose a huge contract in Bordeaux; by Dutch activists who achieved the first success in convincing a Dutch bank to divest from Veolia and applied pressure on other banks to follow suit; by Swedish peace and justice groups, mainly connected to the Church of Sweden, particularly Diakonia, and Swedish Palestine solidarity groups who cost Veolia the heaviest, $4.5 billion contract in running the Stockholm metro; by British solidarity groups and activists, particularly affiliated with PSC, who contributed tremendously to excluding Veolia from a lucrative contract in the West Midlands; and of course by the Palestinian BDS National Committee, BNC, which partnered with all the above in the now famous Derail Veolia and Alstom campaign to pressure the company to abandon this illegal project.

The Derail Veolia and Alstom campaign, which involves activists and groups in many countries all working to pressure the two French giants to quit the JLR project, was officially launched at the Bilbao Initiative conference in the Basque city last November.

Now is the time to pressure Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Gulf states, among others, to kick Alstom out due to its complicity in this illegal project.  Solidarity with Palestine means almost nothing if it cannot be translated into BDS action that can truly cost the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime dearly.

This is the time to DERAIL ALSTOM!

Source: www.mrzinemonthlyreview.org

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* “Jerusalem Rail Operator Jumps Ship, Tel Aviv Group Isn’t Even Responding” (Haaretz, 8 June 2009):

Veolia has had to contend not only with the delays and difficulties in building the light rail project itself, but with political pressure at home as well.  Two months ago a French court heard a lawsuit by a pro-Palestinian group, demanding that the light rail project be halted.

The organization based itself on an article in French law that allows the court to void business agreements, signed by French companies, that violate international law.

The political pressure on Veolia has been mounting in another direction.  According to various reports abroad, the French firm had been losing major projects in Europe because of its involvement in the Jerusalem job.  Observers claim that’s the real reason Veolia opted out.

Source: www.hareetz.com

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French company to withdraw from Jerusalem rail project
08 / 06 / 2009
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=38406

Bethlehem – Ma’an –Under pressure from pro-Palestine campaigners, a French company is poised to withdraw from the controversial Jerusalem Light Rail project that links the city center to illegal West Bank settlements.

The company Veolia, which was supposed to operate the transport system
after its construction, is now abandoning the project and also seeking
to sell its 5% stake in Citypass lightrail consortium, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The growing movement for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel hailed the move as a victory.

“This great victory came as a result of years of hard, principled,
meticulous and persistent work by French solidarity groups,” wrote
Omar Barghouti of the BDS National Committee on the BDS movement
website, also noting the contributions of groups across Europe.

Campaigners in Europe targeted Veolia and another company, Alstom, over their involvement in the project, ultimately causing Veolia to lose 7 billion US dollars in contracts in Bordeaux, Stockholm, and West Midlands, England. Dutch activists also convinced a Dutch bank to divest from Veolia.

The loss of the contract to operate the Stokholm metro, under pressure
from peace groups and organizations linked to the Church of Sweden, cost the company 4.5 billion dollars.

According to Haaretz, Veolia may try to sell its stake in the Citypass
consortium to Israel’s Egged or Dan bus companies, a deal which
could face scrutiny from the country’s antitrust authorities.

The newspaper also reports that Citypass, the Municipality of Jerusalem, and various Israeli ministries have been locked in a
dispute over who is to blame for months of delays in the light rail
project.

Of the eight proposed lines in the Light Rail system, only one is
actually under construction. The line connects downtown West Jerusalem
with the settlement of Pisgat Ze’ev, which is built on Palestinian
land in East Jerusalem.

Source: www.maannews.net

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Jerusalem rail operator jumps ship,
Tel Aviv group isn’t even responding
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1091186. html

The light rail projects for Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are both facing
difficulties. In a body-blow to the future Jerusalem light rail, the
French company Veolia, which was supposed to run the train system after its construction, is abandoning the project.

Moving on to Tel Aviv, the city can’t even get a response to the
compromise it offered MTS, the consortium supposed to build an urban
train system, in order to settle issues in dispute. It’s waited a month and gotten no answer, causing not a little consternation in government circles.

As for the Jerusalem system, Veolia not only wants out of running the
future train; it’s trying to sell its 5% stake in Citypass, the
light rail consortium.

In recent days Veolia has been sending feelers to the Egged or Dan bus
consortiums, to potentially replace it as project operator.

Any change in the ownership structure of Citypass, or in the identity of the project operator, requires the permission of the state. Also, the attempt to add Egged to the consortium could arouse opposition at the Antitrust Authority.

Veolia has had to contend not only with the delays and difficulties in
building the light rail project itself, but with political pressure at
home as well. Two months ago a French court heard a lawsuit by a
pro-Palestinian group, demanding that the light rail project be halted.

The organization based itself on an article in French law that allows
the court to void business agreements, signed by French companies, that violate international law.

The political pressure on Veolia has been mounting in another direction. According to various reports abroad, the French firm had been losing major projects in Europe because of its involvement in the Jerusalem job. Observers claim that’s the real reason Veolia opted out.

Also, for two years the Jerusalem project has been held up by battles
between Citypass, the city of Jerusalem and various ministries. (The
disputes even include whose fault the delays are.)

Last week the spat between Citypass and the state reached a new low,
after the group admitted it couldn’t meet the new deadline for the
Jerusalem light rail project. It expects to run nine months behind
schedule, the consortium said. The state then accused the business consortium of deliberately dragging its feet and of effecting “a hostile takeover of the streets of Jerusalem.”

Sources in Israel’s transportation sector called Citypass’s announcement “chutzpah,” on the grounds that it and the state had agreed on a new schedule only a year earlier. And that was a month after an arbitration process during which the new schedule was ratified.

In response to Citypass’ announcement, the state contacted the
arbitrators accompanying the process, asking them to enforce the
franchise agreement and force Citypass to finish the works as set in the new schedule, by September 2010, “finally restoring normalcy to
Jerusalem.”

The state also asked for permission to stop paying Citypass, including
the upcoming installment of NIS 32.5 million.

Citypass can meet the agreed-on schedule, the state insists: “This isn’t inability to complete the project on time. At most it’s a crude attempt to squeeze more money from the state,” wrote the state in its letter to the arbitrators. “[Citypass] already advised the state and the arbitrators that it doesn’t intend to finish the works on time, but it doesn’t settle for words: It is making sure to work at a pace that assures it won’t meet the agreed-on deadline for completion.”

In summation, the state accuses Citypass of making life in Jerusalem
intolerable.

Citypass denies the allegations, which it called “absurd,” and claims
the state is indulging in baseless legal gambits in response to the
lawsuit Citypass filed against it because of the delays.

Sources in the know suspect that the delays ruined the project’s
business model. The cost of the works grew, and there were delays in the transfer of state funding for the companies involved in the project, while the companies needed the money to return their own loans. The upshot, if so, was heightened tensions between the partners in Citypass, mainly between equipment provider Alstom, operator Veolia and the Israeli contractor Ashtrom.

After some changes, the partners in Citypass are Ashtrom (27.5%), Alstom (20%), Polar Investments (17.5%), Israel Infrastructures Fund (10%) and Veolia (5%).

The Jerusalem project involves building eight lines. Only the first one has passed the tender process, which Citypass won. The line is supposed to start in Pisgat Zeev, pass along Jaffa Street and end at Mount Herzl. The cost of that line alone is projected at
NIS 2.4 billion. The state is providing NIS 1.4 billion.

Source: www.hareetz.com

Haaretz reports that Veolia Transport, a subsidiary of French
multinational Veolia Environnement, has backed out on agreement to run Israel’s train system in Jerusalem after construction of the Jerusalem Light Rail project is complete:

The light rail projects for Jerusalem and Tel Aviv are both facing
difficulties. In a body-blow to the future Jerusalem light rail, the
French company Veolia, which was supposed to run the train system after its construction, is abandoning the project. The rail
tramway system is intended to link west Jerusalem to illegal Jewish
settlements such as Pisgat Ze’ev and French Hill, further increasing
Israel’s grip on the Palestinian populated territory and providing
easier, faster transport for settlers to and from Israel.

Veolia was forced to deal with multiple internal setbacks which have
delayed the project, as well as a lawsuit launched against them using French legislation by French advocacy group Association France-Palestine Solidarité and the Palestine Liberation Organisation:

The organization based itself on an article in French law that allows
the court to void business agreements, signed by French companies, that violate international law.Veolia has also reportedly lost contracts abroad due to its involvement in this project:

The political pressure on Veolia has been mounting in another direction.

According to various reports abroad, the French firm had been losing
major projects in Europe because of its involvement in the Jerusalem
job. Observers claim that’s the real reason Veolia opted out.This
is an important achievement for the international boycott, divest and
sanction (BDS) movement against Israel, which has been gaining growing
support over the years as Israel’s brutally violent and oppressive
policies in Gaza and the West Bank continue unabated. For more
information on the BDS campaign against Veoila, check here.

Also remember to check back soon for a PULSE interview with American-Israeli lawyer Emily Schaeffer, who is representing the Palestinian village of Bil’in in a lawsuit filed in Canadian courts against two French-Canadian companies who have been charged with illegally constructing residential and non-residential buildings for the Israeli settlement of Mattityahu East on Bil’in’s land.

Source: pulse media