7 April 2011 - Activists are celebrating the South London Waste Partnership’s (SLWP) decision to ‘dump’ French multinational company Veolia’s bid for the one billion pound ’Waste Treatment Infrastructure’ contract serving the London boroughs of Kingston-upon-Thames, Sutton, Merton and Croydon.

SLWP’s decision is a victory for the coalition of Palestine solidarity activists, local human rights groups and local residents who have been campaigning tirelessly for the past year against Veolia’s involvement in the procurement process due to its activities in illegally occupied Palestine.

2010

This is the latest in a series of setbacks for Veolia, which has failed to win public contracts in France, England, Wales, Ireland and Australia.

Veolia is involved in the building and operation of a new tramway linking illegal settlements in East Jerusalem with Israel. This tramway was condemned by the United Nations Human Rights Council which stated:

“The Israeli decision to establish and operate a tramway between West Jerusalem and the Israeli settlement of Pisgat Zeev, is in clear violation of international law and relevant United Nations resolutions.”

Veolia is also an operator of bus services for Israeli settlers, connecting illegal settlements in the West Bank and Israel.  The buses travel on settler-only roads, built on stolen land that seperates and divides Palestinian towns and villages.

2011: The campaign continues.

Campaigners argued that Veolia’s continued business activities in the West Bank made it complicit in violations of international law and war crimes and thus its grave misconduct, provided sufficient grounds for the SLWP to exercise its discretion to exclude Veolia Environmental Services from the bid.

In a PSC statement, Samrina Mir (Merton PSC) and Ben Jamal (Chair, Richmond & Kingston PSC) said:

“This is a significant victory for the Bin Veolia campaign, made possible by the joint efforts of local human rights campaigners from Croydon & Sutton Green Party, Sutton for Peace and Justice, Kingston Peace/CND, Kingston University Palestine Society, War on Want, faith groups, trade unions and many others from across the four London boroughs, to hold Veolia accountable for its violations of international law and its involvement in profiting from the occupation.”

Activists vowed to continue the campaign by demanding that councils involved in the partnership exclude Veolia from all other contracts until it ceases its illegal activities in the West Bank.

Activists visited Veolia's London head office on 30 March.