17 - 23 May 2001
Issue No.534
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 17 - 23 May 2001 Issue No.534 |
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Brash boycott?
Was the Pharmacists Syndicate decision to boycott Eli Lilli more ardour than erudition?
The Pharmacists Syndicate has called on drugstores to boycott the products of the US-based Eli Lilli & Co., allegedly in protest of the company's support for Israel, reports Rana Allam. The syndicate issued a statement last week claiming that Eli Lilli had been "boasting about assisting Israeli settlements."
Sources at the Indianapolis-based company, however, insisted that the syndicate had made a brash decision, without first verifying the charges. One source insisted that the syndicate had relied on faxes and e-mail -- which could have come from people with ulterior motives -- for their information.
A source at Eli Lilli emphasised that the company has no political agenda, but is only interested in helping out where it can. The source noted that the decision to call for a boycott was taken even though the syndicate had made no effort to find out the value of the company's donations in other areas, such as medical aid to the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as to Arab countries, such as Iraq, Syria and Egypt. "You cannot expect a multinational company to take sides; you can only ask them to be fair, and Lilli has donated to the Arabs as well as the Israelis," the source said, noting that Lilli has donated $2 million worth of insulin to Egypt after being approached by the Ministry of Health.
Lilli spokesman Edward Sagebil told Al-Ahram Weekly in a telephone interview that the company was "disappointed and surprised" by this call for a boycott. "For 100 years, Lilli has been helping the needy, regardless of political or racial issues," he said. He emphasised that whenever the company was approached to make donations in the form of products, Lilli was quick to respond. "We have donated more than $12 million in the past four years to different Arab countries in response to calls from their governments," he said.
Although the boycott call came over claims that the company was donating money to Israeli settlements, it now seems that the issue is more nuanced, having to do with the donation of medicines for the treatment of Holocaust victims. But the syndicate stands by its call for the boycott. Mahmoud Abdel-Maqsoud, the syndicate's secretary-general, admitted that the union had never before called for a boycott of medicines. "In this case, we have to take a stand," he insisted.
Abdel-Maqsoud claims that Lilli contacted the union in an effort to settle the issue and end the boycott. "We asked, and they refused, for $500,000 for the Palestinians," he said. Instead, Lilli offered $50,000, which the syndicate turned down as too meagre. But the claim is denied by Sagebil, who says the company was proud of its efforts in support of Arab countries. "We will help the needy everywhere," he said.
Sagebil said the company was approached this year by an Israeli organisation asking for support for Holocaust victims. "We responded by providing them with products for the treatment of some psychiatric cases," he said. This support is ongoing for three years, with a total donation value of $150,000. He said he could not speculate why the syndicate had made this move at this time in particular, but added that Lilli had no intention of withdrawing from Egypt.
Many Egyptian drugstores have been notified of the boycott. Dr Ahmed Suleiman, manager of a reputable chain of drugstores in Cairo, told the Weekly: "We will boycott Lilli and no patient will be affected." Several pharmacists said Lilli's products had cheaper available alternatives. It seems, however, that small drugstores were not notified. "We are more than willing to cooperate," said Dr Lobna Seddiq, a drugstore owner who had not heard of the boycott.
Egyptian emotions have been running high since the Palestinian uprising erupted in September of last year and people have been particularly angered by the scale and brutality of Israeli violence against Palestinians. Calls for boycotting American products has been one way of giving vent to feelings of fury and frustration, as America is viewed by many Egyptians as biased in Israel's favour.
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