A pro-Palestinian encampment set up at McGill

A pro-Palestinian encampment was set up by students early Saturday afternoon on the campus of McGill University, in downtown Montreal.

Dozens of tents were erected to call on universities to review certain partnerships. Around a hundred people were said to have been on the scene early in the afternoon.

If the movement was initiated by students from McGill and Concordia universities, students from the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) and Laval University were also present.

Zaynab Ali, a McGill student participating in the camp, explains that by doing so, students are demanding that universities [désinvestissent] funds involved in the Zionist state and [coupent] links with Zionist academic institutions.

Our tuition money is invested in the companies that manufacture the weapons used against the people of Gazasaid another student.

In French as in English, inscriptions such as You finance the genocide, Teachers against genocide, Down with Justin the genocidal Or Outremont for Palestine were seen within the camp.

According to the Montreal branch of the Palestinian Youth Movement, this would be the first pro-Palestinian student encampment in Canada.

On Instagram, the organization indicates that the camp will be present for a period indeterminate and that it will not let universities be complicit in the genocide.

In a press release, the management of McGill University assured that security agents were on site and that it supports the rights of the University community to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly within the limits of McGill policies and the law.

We also have a duty to create a respectful environment that creates optimal conditions for carrying out our academic mission and that protects the health and safety of our community.

With information from Carla Oliveira and Cassandra Yanez-Leyton (CBC News)