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An Interesting Letter the Iraqi People from Representatives of Cochaba
Posted by Jeff (Guest) - Monday, November 22 2004, 6:00:55 (CET)
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Letter to the Iraqi People from Representatives of Cochabamba, Bolivia From the report

"Bechtel: Profiting from Destruction"

An Open Letter to the People of Iraq

May 30, 2003

Dear Brothers and Sisters of Iraq,

We have watched carefully in recent weeks and months as you have suffered under the pains of war and its chaotic and unstable aftermath. Our hearts are with you and your families.

We write to you now because we fear that you might be made victims of additional suffering, at the hands of a multinational corporation -- Bechtel - an evil
business that the people of Bolivia know all too well.

This Bechtel Corporation, the company that has been
awarded a massive contract by the US government to
rebuild infrastructure in your country, is the same one that took over the public water system of our city, Cochabamba, three years ago.

Bechtel's evil deeds in Bolivia include:

1) Within weeks of taking control of our water Bechtel
raised water rates for the poor by more than 50% and
in many cases by double, far beyond what families here could afford to pay. As a result of Bechtel's greed
families were forced to choose between water and food.

2) When popular protest erupted to challenge Bechtel the company's local managers sat contently in their luxury hotels and watched on television as the Bolivian government brutally repressed the people of
Cochabamba in order to protect Bechtel's contract.

3) When popular protest finally succeeded in kicking
Bechtel out of Bolivia, Bechtel's managers sacked the
water company's offices, taking computers, personnel
records, ratepayer monies, and leaving behind an
unpaid electric bill for $90,000.

4) To defend themselves, Bechtel's senior managers
continue to publicly lie about the severity of their rate increases.

5) Bechtel is now seeking to sue the people of
Cochabamba for $25 million in a secret World Bank trade court, demanding a share of the huge profits
that they expected to make from the Bolivian people
and were not allowed to.

Bechtel's actions in Bolivia and elsewhere demonstrate
that it is a company without morals, only greed. What it sought to do to the people of Bolivia it will surely try to do to the people of Iraq as well.

We support you in any action to remove Bechtel from
your country and to protect yourselves from the abuse
they are likely to bring with them.

In solidarity,

Luis Choquetijlla
Executive Secretary, Central Obrera Departamental

Oscar Olivera
Executive Secretary, Federacion de Trabajadores
Fabriles de Cochabamba

Evo Morales
President, Seis Federaciones del Tropico
Cochabambino National Deputy

Omar Fernandez
President, Local Federation of Irrigators

Wilfredo Portugal
President, Workers without Retirement

Luis Sanchez-Gomez
Director, Pro Life Social Committee
Director, SEMAPA

Alex Galvez
Executive Secretary, Confederacion de
Fabriles de Bolivia



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