Siemens Could Lose Los Angeles MTA Contract Due to Sale of Spying Equipment to Iranian Government
In an exclusive story, the Washington Times reports that siemens could potentially lose hundreds of millions of dollars from a proposed plan for the German company to make 100 railcars for the city’s Subway system.
Considering the large Iranian presence and population in Los Angeles, the statement behind the final decision in this matter could prove very important for the City of Los Angeles.
Of the people interviewed for this article, it seems MTA board member Richard Katz is missing the larger picture in the situation. This is not a matter of supporting or not supporting corporations who do business with Iran, this is a matter of human rights and the right to privacy, not about some sort of inherently evil Iranian state that should not be engaged with at all costs. Instead, this is as Shirin Ebadi says, about holding corporations responsible for the way the decisions they make impact the world as a whole, not about a singularly evil nation or corporation:
One of the world’s largest engineering firms, Siemens, could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in sales to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) because it sold Iran equipment used to spy on dissidents.
California politicians and Iranian human rights advocates say in awarding contracts, officials should take into account the fact that the German company participated in a joint venture with Nokia in 2008 to sell Iran‘s telecommunications company a monitoring center that, according to the joint venture’s own promotional literature, can intercept and catalog e-mails, telephone calls and Internet data.
Political pressure because of Iran’s recent crackdown on postelection protesters – as well as the country’s advancing nuclear program – could affect a vote next week on who will supply rail cars for Los Angeles County.
“At a time when the city and the board of supervisors are urging divestment from Iran, it would be hypocritical of our board to make a deal with Siemens or anyone else who is doing business in Iran,” said Richard Katz, a member of the MTA board.
Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer and winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, told The Washington Times Thursday that she is urging Los Angeles County not to award Siemens the contract. She also urged Californians to write letters to their local representatives to boycott Siemens.
“I don‘t think the City of Los Angeles should award contracts to companies such as Nokia or Siemens who participate in the violation of basic human rights including the right to free speech and privacy,” she wrote in an e-mail. “Just as it is the duty of governments to uphold values and contracts honoring universal human rights, it is as important for companies and large corporations to do the same.”
Saying that Nokia and Siemens participated in censorship in Iran, she added, “If such companies are faced with consequences that effect their ‘bottom line‘ they will be less enticed to enter in to business agreements with any government attempting to restrict the basic human rights of their people.”
Next week, the Los Angeles MTA board will vote on whether to extend options to an Italian company, Ansaldobreda (AB), to make 100 rail cars for the Los Angeles subway. However, senior MTA officials have been dissatisfied with the Italian company’s performance and Siemens has been considered the strongest other contender.
Siemens risks losses due to Iran ties [Washington Times]
