Please find below a call from the Tunisians to those who will be traveling to Tunis for the World Social Forum: Please be advised that foreigners traveling to Tunis may be offered free SIM cards from Orange Tunisie, a popular mobile phone carrier, and are being asked by the BDS Movement to denounce Orange and boycott their services because of their contracts to provide telephone infrastructure to the Israeli Army and to Israeli settlements in occupied Palestine.

As you probably know, the international BDS campaign condemns the partnership established by the French company France Telecom Orange with the Israeli company Partner, to install telephone lines for settlements and the army in the occupied Palestinian territories. One WSF workshop (at least) will address this issue.

It has been reported that promotions by phone companies operating in Tunisia, including Orange, aim at providing travelers, coming off the plane in Tunis, with free chips for their mobile phone, with a few hours of free calls.

We ask all participants and activists to denounce the involvement of the Orange company serving the Israeli colonization.

We inform WSF participants and activists that an agreement has been reached with Tunisie Telecom for free chips to be offered to participants of the WSF.

We therefore ask you to:

1) forward this message to all participants that you know, mailing lists, websites etc..

2) organize or participate in protests at the airport, with leaflets explaining this action. The message of this leaflet is simple: "Orange has signed a partnership with the Israeli company Partner that installs telephone relays for the Israeli army and settlers in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. We refuse to use Orange chips, complicit with the Israeli colonization and occupation of Palestine."

Thanks for your help and your comments.

In solidarity,
the French BDS Campaign