By Mark Welp
HOI-19, ABC
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Caterpillar Inc. held its annual stockholders meeting in Chicago on Wedesday and protestors held their annual vigil outside the company’s headquarters in Peoria.
About a dozen people held signs condemning Caterpillar for selling bulldozers to Israel.
The protestors claim the Israeli government uses the equipment to destroy Palestinian homes.
Several people participating in a “Walk for Justice” stopped in Peoria to send Caterpillar a message.
“A group of us is walking from Springfield to North Chicago to address the various wars in the Mideast and Caterpillar plays a key role in the conflict in Israel-Palestine,” said Jeff Leys of Voices for Creative Nonviolence.
“Maybe get some people at Caterpillar to think about their involvement in human rights abuses,” said Terri Brink of the Peoria Area Peace Network. “And hopefully one of these days CAT will not sell equipment to Israel that’s involved in the violation of human rights.”
Caterpillar released a statement saying, “We clearly have neither the legal right nor the tangible ability to regulate how customers use their machines.”
