Exchange Boycott

“Entry to US citizens prohibited,” reads a notice on the door of a Kyiv photo store near the Lybidska metro station. The store’s director, Vladyslav Boyko, told The Day that this is how he and his colleagues protest the Iraq War. “I have lived in Iraq for four years and a half, and I love the Iraqi people. I hate the Americans for starting this war,” the businessman explained. He seemed to be absolutely confident of the righteousness of his action, and was not at all frightened by possible losses. Obviously, Americans are far from constituting a fundamental segment of the Ukrainian photo store’s clientele. However, some Ukrainians might not like such hospitality either. Incidentally, Mr. Boyko appeared to be prepared to the question, “What would you do to an American if he still enters the store?”

“Let them just come in and we’ll show them!” was the merchant’s bellicose answer.

Anti-American sentiments did not appear yesterday, as well as any other “anti” referring to France, Russia, or Germany. Due to their leading position on the global chessboard, Americans remain in the limelight of public attention throughout the world. The start of the Iraq War has only reinforced this trend. The results of a poll conducted few days before the war are quite indicative in this sense. The number of people well disposed toward the US decreased from 79% to 50% in Poland, from 70% to 34% in Italy, and to 14% in Spain. These figures are notable in that the governments of these countries support Washington’s policy toward Iraq. Recently it has become fashionable to boycott goods from one country or another. For example, some Japanese stores are refusing to sell American goods, although the Japanese government officially supports the military operation against Iraq. There was nothing surprising in the reports on the boycott of American goods in France and Germany. However, it would be wrong to suppose that Americans in their turn do not express their feelings toward other countries and peoples. Naturally, the French were first victims, and the US. Americans boycotted virtually everything having to do with France: French wines, cheese, and cuisine. It even came to changing the names of some traditional French dishes.

Since the beginning of the war, peace demonstrations take place almost every day. Hundreds of thousands of people are expressing their opposition to the US policy. Especially powerful manifestations were held in the Asian countries, some of them rather aggressive. For instance, the Monday before last Indian Maoists blew up a Pepsi warehouse in Hyderabad.