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[casi] Anti-Iraq-war groups target Bechtel



Anti-Iraq-war groups target Bechtel headquarters
 http://tinyurl.com/di81
By Andrea Orr

SAN FRANCISCO, June 4 (Reuters) - International construction giant Bechtel
Group Inc., which is playing a key role in rebuilding Iraq, has become the
object of renewed protests this week with demonstrators threatening to close
down the privately held company's headquarters for a day.

Groups of protesters who fanned out across churches, yoga studios and subway
stations in San Francisco in recent days, will culminate their "week of
action against Bechtel and the corporate invasion of Iraq" on Thursday with
a demonstration outside of the company's corporate headquarters.

Direct Action to Stop the War, the San Francisco group leading the protests,
says Thursday's demonstration will be peaceful but will be aimed at shutting
down the Bechtel office, which employs about 1,000 people.

Bechtel, one of the world's largest construction companies, in April won a
contract worth up to $680 million to repair Iraq's electricity system, water
supplies and other key infrastructure.

Although the contract is not one of the largest for Bechtel, which in the
past has worked on building entire cities in the Arabian desert, protesters
say they fear Bechtel's work in Iraq will put it in a position to profit
unfairly from the country's natural resources.

They are particularly concerned about Bechtel controlling the country's
water supply.

"I think that if the war is a struggle for what Iraq is going to look like,
then it is far from over," said Joshua Clover, an activist with Direct
Action to Stop the War.

"If this kind of profiteering off the war goes unchallenged, they are going
to drive another war."

Direct Action, which maintains Bechtel won the lucrative Iraq contracts by
way of political connections rather than a fair bidding process, is seeking
to raise public awareness of what it says is Bechtel's spotty record of work
in other developing countries.

In particular, it is highlighting the company's work three years ago in
Bolivia, where it was brought in to help the government privatize the
country's water system. The privatization brought sharply higher water
prices to some residents, resulting in violent protests and Bechtel's
contract was ultimately rescinded.

Bechtel disputes that it was a factor in the protests, which resulted in
some deaths, but also says that its record in Bolivia has nothing to do with
its work in Iraq. It notes that it has been hired to rebuild a water system
and has not been involved in any discussions about privatization.

"I would say that Bolivia and Iraq are quite unrelated issues," said Bechtel
spokesman Jonathan Marshall. "One involved operating a utility for a
government, the other is rebuilding the physical infrastructure on behalf of
the Iraqi people."

"We're proud of our work in Iraq," he said, adding that right now, "Iraqi
children are drinking and swimming in sewage water." ((Reporting by Andrea
Orr; editing by Eric Walsh; Reuters Messaging:
andrea.orr.reuters.com@reuters.net, San Francisco newsroom, (415) 677-2578))


© Reuters Limited. Click for Restrictions.



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