BERLIN:
No more Coca-Cola or Budweiser, no Marlboro, no American whisky or even
American Express cards — a growing number of restaurants in Germany
are taking everything American off their menus to protest the Iraq war.
Although
the protests are mainly symbolic, waiters in dozens of bars and restaurants
in Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Bonn and other German cities are telling
patrons, "Sorry, Coca-Cola is not available any more due to the
current political situation."
The
boycotts appear to be part of a nascent world-wide movement. One website,
www.consumers-against-war.de, calls for boycotts of 27 top American
firms from Microsoft to Kodak, while another, www.adbusters.org, urges
the "millions of people against the war" to "boycott
brand America".
Consumer
fury seems to be on the rise. Demonstrators in Paris smashed the windows
of a McDonald's restaurant last week, forcing police in riot gear to
move in to protect staff and customers of the American fast-food outlet.
The attackers sprayed obscenities and "boycott" on the windows.
In
Indonesia, Iraq war opponents have pasted signs on McDonald's and other
American food outlets, trying to force them shut by "sealing them"
and urging Indonesians to avoid them.
In
the Swiss city of Basel, 50 students recently staged a sit-down strike
in front of a McDonald's to block customers' entry, waved peace signs
and urged people to eat pretzels instead of hamburgers.
REUTERS
[ THURSDAY, MARCH
27, 2003 01:49:09 AM ]
