Posted on 06/27/2004 7:12:59 AM PDT by veronica
British Muslims are calling for a boycott of chocolate giant Cadbury because of alleged links with the American firm accused of torturing prisoners in Iraq.
The UK Islamic Mission made the shock plea as the Bournville-based company has previously employed business advisers CACI Ltd.
The firm, which has offices in Coventry, is a subsidiary of US firm CACI International, which was hired by the CIA and coordinated interrogations at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
Iraqi inmates at the prison were stripped, chained, sexually humiliated and threat-enedwithelectrocution byUSguards.There have also been allegations of rape and murder.
Last night, Haq Ghani, of the UK Islamic Mission, called for a boycott of up to 40 UK firms, including Cadbury, who have links with CACI Ltd.
“It is very concerning that a notorious organisationsuchasCACI isinvolvedinany way with household names and companies whichtheMuslim communityuse,”hesaid.
“Many Muslims will boycott these organisations and take peaceful action to protest, such as picketing their headquarters.
“There should be a boycott of any organ-isation which works with a company involved in state terrorism.
“I would call on people who oppose the war on Iraq to boycott these firms.”
But a spokesman for Cadbury said the companywasnolonger usingtheservicesof CACILtd. Hesaid:“Ibelieve thatthefirmdid offer us some advice to assist the process of integrating our retail sales force with that of Trebor Bassett. But that was three or four years ago and we have not used their services since.”
Butthe SundayMercurydiscoveredmore recent links between Cadbury and the firm. On March 4, Rafik Chafekar, sales operations Manager at Cadbury, was a guest speaker at a CACI conference in Buckinghamshire.
The seminar was also attended by other company clients including Honda, Renault, Barclays, Scottish Widows, AXA Direct, Friends Provident, House of Fraser, The Woolwich, Unilever, Danone, WH Smith, theRoyalMail,Peugeot, 02andBritishGas.
Aclassactionlawsuit wasfiledearlierthis month in the US by the New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights, who are accusing CACI International of conspiring to ‘direct and conduct a scheme of torture, rape, and in some instances, summarily execute plaintiffs’.
Approximately 1,000 Iraqis are involved in the action.
In an earlier interview, Dr Jack London, the president of CACI International, said he found ‘the erroneous information that has been circulating regarding CACI’s involvement in the Abu Ghraib prison deeply offensive’.
He claimed the company was “working diligently to uncover the truth and fully cooperating with all government investigationsaswellas conductingourowninternal analysis.”
He added: “The company has never, and never will, condone or tolerate illegal or inappropriate behaviour by any employee when conducting CACI business.”
In Britain, CACI Ltd mainly provides strategic business advice to its high-profile clients.
Renault has retained the services of CACI in the UK since last July. It refused to comment about the boycott calls last night.
Shhhhhhhhh.......
Out-freakin-standing... my favorite chocolate bar is Cadbury Fruit and Nut bars. I just ordered two cases and am going to give them away this week! And btw... if you want a way to use some Cadbury chocolate, try...
$20.00 Pie
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
9 - 10 oz. of Cadbury Chocolate bars
18 large marshmallows
1/2 cup milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Break up chocolate bars and place in a double boiler or medium saucepan with marshmallows and milk. Place over medium-high heat and stir frequently until chocolate and marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a medium bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Fold into cooled chocolate mixture. Gently stir in vanilla extract. Pour mixture into crust. Chill before serving.
Finally. Something other than praying that we can do.
Count on me to be buying Cadbury in large quantities soon.
When my 22 yr old was just a baby, I used to ask her what sound a bunny made. 'cluck, cluck,cluck' from the Cadbury adverts.
Please do. They can boycott all they want - if, say, the American market for Cadbury goods picks up, they won't notice a thing.
Regards, Ivan
How about pinging this one? Let's give Cadbury some heavy duty business.
Just bought two 1lb milk trays. Chocolates that humiliate and kill terrorists - yummy. One of these ought to hit the spot after a pork loin on the grill with lard biscuits and sausage gravy. Capitalism rocks.
Here's a great excuse for putting some chocolate in your life and making it more enjoyable than ever. Ping your lists if you have one.
As much as I love chocolate, I find Cadbury a little too sweet, HOWEVER, I may have to go buy some anyway. A LOT of it.
I am probably a complete idiot and missed something here, but can you explain this for me?
Would this count as a freep?
Yummy!!! That means more for those of us who love good chocolate.
I despair at the ability of the media to give gratuitous amounts of publicity to total w&^&^kers. This "organisation" is probably 3 people in a bedsit.
It's good chocolate anyway!
This JUST makes it better!
thanks for posting that link!
 |
| "I'm good. I'm tempting. I'm too good to share. What am I? Cadbury's Temptations or Kashmir?" read the punchline |
NEW DELHI, August 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - An advertisement for Swiss chocolate featuring the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir on the map of India, with the punchline: "Too good to share", has attracted the wrath of hardline Hindu nationalists, a report said Tuesday, August 20.
The advertisement, published to coincide with India's Independence Day by Cadbury India Limited for its Temptations brand, depicts Kashmir along with a riddle: "I'm good. I'm tempting. I'm too good to share. What am I? Cadbury's Temptations or Kashmir?"
The advertisement’s punchline: "Too good to share", written in bold across the shaded area highlighting Kashmir on the map, raised the hackles of politicians in Bombay belonging to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's hardline Hindu nationalist BJP party, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The message was quite clear - that like Cadbury's Temptations brand, "Kashmir too can't be shared."
"In the first place, how can you use India's map for commercial gain?" asked Vinod Tawde, who heads the BJP's Bombay chapter.
"Kashmir is a very sensitive issue and thousands… have sacrificed their lives for it," Tawde was quoted as saying in the Pioneer newspaper.
India has cracked down on an independence war led by Muslim fighters against Indian rule in Kashmir since 1989 - a turmoil that has cost Kashmir 70,000 lives.
"Such ads just trivialize the issue ... How can an ad campaign, in the name of creativity, even imply that Kashmir is a state to be shared?" the BJP leader asked, threatening national protests.
But the people of Muslim-majority Kashmir have voiced their will to gain independence from India or become part of Pakistan. India insists, however, the Himalayan state is an indivisible part of its territory.
Kashmir, the cause of two of the three wars between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947, is divided between the two countries and claimed by both.
Cadbury India Limited apologized for the advertisement.
"The press advertisement for Cadbury Temptations... was issued entirely in good faith, with no intention whatsoever to offend the sentiments of the public," a company statement said.
"We offer our sincere apologies to any section of the public that may have been offended by this advertisement," the statement added.
Cadbury India Limited is part of the Cadbury Schweppes group and is India's leading confectionery manufacturer
.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.