October 26, 2005 demonstration against The Coca-Cola Co. at the New York City Coca-Cola offices on 5th Ave

October 26, 2005 Protest Pics

New York City, October 26, 2005: A demonstration against The Coca-Cola Co. began at the New York City Coca-Cola offices on 5th Ave. (These are also the offices of Allen & Co. Herbert Allen, president & CEO of Allen & Co. and Donald Keough, chairman of the board of Allen & Co., are on the board of directors of The Coca-Cola Co. SunTrust Banks, the bank of Killer Coke, leases offices in the building, which is owned by a Coca-Cola subsidiary.) We then marched down 5th Avenue to the Colombian consulate on 46th Street.

Report from Camillo Romero, USAS:

"October 26, 2005 was a Victory Over Coke! Over 30 students from throughout the New York City area as well as members of the community converged on the Coca-Cola Company Corporate Office in Midtown Manhattan. Members from the community such as unions like the Teamsters, the American Federation of Teachers, allies like Corporate Campaign, and folks from as far as Massachusetts and Virginia came to remind Coke that we are watching, we are many, and we are mobilizing!

"News coverage ranged from national Spanish television programs like Telemundo's 'Al Rojo Vivo' to several Associated Press reporters and photographers and a series of local and independent papers. All witnessed the testimony of one of Coke's would be victims, Luis Adolfo Cardona, who as a worker and member of SINALTRAINAL (Colombian Food & Beverage Workers Union) at a bottling plant not only witnessed the murder of his coworker and friend, Isidro Gil, but later escaped a kidnapping attempt from the same paramilitaries that had killed Gil and been assisted by Coca-Cola.

"We then took over the entire eastern sidewalk of 5th Avenue with a loud, colorful, and of course peaceful march from the Coke office to the Colombian Consulate. Banners reading "Estudiantes del Mundo contra Coca-Cola Asesina" and "Stop Killer Coke" made the message clear as several concerned Colombians approached us to find out more and express their support to Cardona. The role of the Colombian government in siding with the Coca-Cola Company for the sake of foreign investment has left many social movement groups like SINALTRAINAL in the line of fire of paramilitaries and the Colombian military - making our work of international solidarity that much more urgent and powerful."