News the other press BERLIN—No more Coca-Cola or Budweiser, no Marlboro, no American hiskey or even American Express cards—a growing” number of restaurants in Germany are taking everything erican off their menus to protest the ar in Iraq. Although the protests are mainly sym- bolic, waiters in dozens of bars and restau- rants 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 situ- ation.” The boycotts appear to be part of a nas- cent worldwide movement. One Web site, , calls for boycotts of 27 top American firms from Microsoft to Kodak while another, , 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 win- dows of a McDonald’s restaurant last week, forcing police in riot gear to move in to protect staff and customers of the erican 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 erican 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 it-down strike in front of a McDonald’s to block customers’ entry, waved peace igns and urged people to eat pretzels instead of hamburgers. Anti-American sentiment has even reached provinces in Russia, where some rural eateries put up signs telling ericans they were unwelcome, accord- ing to an Izvestia newspaper report. A ileen Velthuis ews Editor change that. From March 24-28, ment mandatory health and dental plans. Some Douglas College students don’t have medical and dental plans, and the Douglas Students’ Union (DSU) held a referenda to find out whether students want to the Health and Dental Plan ref- erenda was held at all three campuses. The questions raised were whether or not students wanted to imple- The plans would cost each student $130 per year on top of tuition—$260 for both plans. Coverage under the National Student Health Network would include 80 per- cent of prescription drug costs, 80 percent of dental work, and 80 percent of paramedical services (which http://otherpress.douglas.be.ca German bicycle manufacturer, Riese und Mueller GmbH, canceled all business deals with its American suppliers. Americans only pay attention when money is on the line,” dozen American firms each year. “We wanted to make a statement against this war and told our American partners that unless they renounce what their government is doing we won't do any business with them anymore.” Small But Symbolic Acts The German restaurant boycotts of American products started small but — spread rapidly after the Iraq war beganon __ Thursday. The conflict has struck a raw _ nerve in a country that became decidedly anti-war after the devastation of World War II, which it initiated. “If people all around the world boycott American products it might influence their policies,” said Jean-Yves Mabileau, owner of LAuberge Francaise which joined 10 Hamburg restaurants in ban- ning Coca Cola, Philip Morris’ Marlboro cigarettes, whiskey and other American goods. This started as a light-hearted reaction to Americans dumping French wine in the gutter and renaming ‘French fries’ as ‘Freedom fries,” he said. “But it feels good to take a stand against this war. It is just a small gesture, but a good one.” Diners at the Osteria restaurant in Berlin are finding that “things go better without Coke” and are _ ordering Germany's long overshadowed imitation of “the real thing’—the slightly sweeter “Afri-Cola’—to express their outrage. “We wanted to do something to express our annoyance,” Osteria owner Fabio Angile told Reuters. “We want to hit Students Union said. the proposals. director Heiko — Mueller told Reuters, whose firm buys _ $300,000 worth of supplies from half a includes chiropractors, naturopaths, and massage thera- pists). Dependants would be covered for an additional fee. The fees for the plans would be mandatory, although students covered by other plans would be allowed to opt out and then receive a refund on those fees. “T think there are very few other colleges with health or dental plans, and we would be one of the first,” Jacob, College Relations Coordinator for the Douglas According to Jacob, to pass the plans, at least five per- cent of the student body had to vote (approximately 470 students)—then 50 percent plus 1 had to be in favour of Reuters—March 25, 2003 Boycott of American Goods Over oc War Gains America where it hurts—in their wallets. None of the customers have com- plained. On the contrary, most thought it was a great idea. Herve Keroureda, owner ofa French restaurant in Hamburg known as Ti Breizh, said he was astonished by the massive media coverage of their small- _ scale anti-American protest. intended as a small gesture but has turned _ into a ‘gigantic issue,” reaction from the patrons has been “Tt was only he said. “And the tremendous. Most have called it a brilliant idea.” In Bonn, bartender Bruno Kessler said __ he was refusing to sell American whiskey or American beer such as Anheuser- Busch’s Budweiser at his Eifeler Stuben. “L asked myself “What can I possibly do to show my anger over this barbary?,” he told Germanys N-24 television network. Starbucks, Big Macs Avoided Sarah Stolz, a German student of American studies, was headed for a Starbucks coffee shop in central Berlin when her anti-war conscience got the best of her. “I was thinking about going into Starbucks, which I love, when I realized it was wrong,” she said. “I’m backing the boycott because the war is totally unjusti- fied.” Rita Marschall was avoiding McDonald's and Burger King. “I’m boy- cotting American products because their policy on Iraq is totally wrong,” said Marschall, in front of a Berlin McDonald’. “It’s just one of many ways we can take a stand.” Some German bakeries have renamed a local cake known as Amerikaner—a disk- shaped pastry with icing on top—as “Peace-ies,” bearing a peace sign piped in chocolate sauce. The boycotts are having only a negligi- ble business impact. DSU Holds Referenda on Health and Dental Plans Chris .. then having to pay [for the plans] Elections for Douglas Students’ Union positions were also held this past week, but results from the elections Jonathan Chandler, Student Jenn Thompson didn’t vote. “T didn’t understand why [the plans] had to be manda- tory,” she said. “Why should it be forced on you if you don't need or want it? I didn’t have time to vote, but I would have voted no.” Jacob had concerns too. April 2, 2003 Establishments often associated with the American way of life such as Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s and Coca- Cola reported no major business impact from the protests. Dunkin Donuts is owned by Britain's Allied Domecq. “We're really a local business in Germany, the product is made in Germany and they're boycotting German products,” said communications director for Coca-Cola Europe, Eurasia and the Middle East in London. Chandler declined comment on whether it was hurting sales, but an indus- try source said any impact would not be serious. A spokeswoman for McDonald's in Europe said there had been no dis- cernible impact on sales from the actions, and described the attack on the Paris restaurant as “an unfortunate incident during a protest.” As a global entity, McDonald's is just a brand,” she said. “Most of the restaurants are local franchises and support their local community. So why do they attack McDonald's? If you get a good answer please let me know.” In the London suburb of Milton Keynes, the Greens party have called on consumers to boycott 330 American products, ranging from Mars bars to Gap jeans and American films on DVD and video. In Zurich, travel agents said some clients who usually take holidays in the United States are changing their destina- tions. Some of the most loyal customers who have been traveling to the United States for years have changed their plans because they don’t like what Bush is doing,” Lucia Zeller, director of the Travac travel agency, told the Zages Anzeiger newspaper. “ . . . . I have severe reservations about it especially when it comes to people only taking a continuing education class ,” he said. and the referenda were not yet available at press time. Keep reading the OP for updates. page 5 ©