The dismantling Of the encampment established since Saturday on the grounds of McGill University is “non-negotiable”, underlines the establishment, which now says it is open to holding a “forum” on the demands of the demonstrators if they cease this occupation. The students, for their part, refuse to give up until the University cuts its ties – financial and academic – with companies contributing to Israeli military activities in the Gaza Strip.
“No one, least of all individuals from outside McGill, has the right to establish a camp on University property, including on the grounds,” said the McGill President Deep Saini in a statement posted on the institution’s website. He then recalled that a significant portion of the demonstrators who occupy some of the approximately 80 tents erected on the university grounds, downtown, do not study at McGill, this mobilization having attracted students from several other campuses in The city.
Reiterating that this encampment does not respect the University’s rules governing demonstrations on its grounds, Deep Saini stressed that this occupation “will not be tolerated”. “The camp must be dismantled without delay, and this is a non-negotiable demand,” he insisted, while holding out a pole to the demonstrators mobilized for a fifth day in a row on this site.
“If members of the McGill community permanently and immediately leave the camp, I commit to holding a forum with members of the McGill community to discuss your various demands and any opposing views in a peaceful, respectful manner. and civilized,” he wrote, before reiterating that any member of this encampment who is not studying at McGill must leave the premises “immediately.”
However, for the students met by The duty apart from this declaration, this proposal will not be enough to convince them to leave this camp. “We want to be sure that our demands will be met and so we are prepared to stay until they take us seriously and treat us as equals,” said a Concordia University student, who requested anonymity because she fears receiving threats online for her support of the Palestinian cause.
Ali Salman, one of the organizers of this mobilization, for his part indicated that he did not have enough “confidence” in McGill University to accept this outstretched hand. “It’s not a vote or a discussion of potential forums that will make us leave, so we will probably stay here,” also said Ari Nahman, a Jewish student at Concordia University who has been taking part in this mobilization for several days.
Management criticized
Professors from McGill University also continued to speak out on Wednesday to criticize the establishment in its management of this encampment.
They are using very, very vague accusations to criminalize what is happening inside this encampment. And this particularly targets Muslim and Arab students, and I think it devalues the accusation of anti-Semitism.
Of Jewish faith, Daniel Schwartz, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at McGill, said he was troubled by the way in which the establishment based itself on a video circulating on social networks, of which “the ‘authenticity’ has not been verified, to condemn this week, in an email to the entire university community, anti-Semitic remarks which would have been made in the context of this encampment.
“They are using very, very vague accusations to criminalize what is happening inside this encampment. And this particularly targets Muslim and Arab students, and I think that this devalues the accusation of anti-Semitism,” which is nevertheless a real problem in our society, noted Mr. Schwartz.
Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University and Middle East expert Rex J. Brynen deplores for his part that the establishment asked the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) to intervene to dismantle this camp. The SPVM is currently refusing to intervene on this site, where no criminal act has been reported to it.
“I think the general opinion of most of my colleagues is that protesting is a fairly normal thing and that the University should be quite flexible and try not to involve the police, because that rarely works well,” notes -he.
Joined by The dutyMcGill University first accepted our interview request, before declining it at the end of the afternoon, without giving any reason.
“The police forces have a role to play in ensuring security and respect for the rules,” declared at the beginning of the evening the Quebec Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, who recalled on the social network camp did not respect “McGill’s internal regulations”.
Relief
The members of this camp also welcomed with cries of joy, Wednesday noon, the decision of Superior Court judge Chantal Masse, who rejected a request for a temporary injunction filed by two students from McGill University who notably wanted to prohibit pro-Palestinian militant groups from being less than 100 meters from the entrances to some 154 buildings on the university campus located in the city center of the metropolis.
“We are ecstatic. It really reaffirms why we are here and that we have a right to be here. We are fighting for McGill to stop investing in this genocide. Until now, she has refused to listen to our requests,” said Leila Khaled, a McGill student who lives in this camp, in an interview.
While affirming that the demonstrators are “illegally” occupying the McGill grounds by camping there, Judge Masse indicated in her judgment that she sees no urgency to act to dismantle this encampment, while the classes and the holding of exams are not are not endangered by the demonstrators. Access to the buildings is also not blocked, according to the evidence presented.
Without issuing an explicit order on this subject, the judge nevertheless launched a call for respect, by “inviting” the defendants and demonstrators to better choose their words without renouncing their anti-war message, and “to refrain from using those likely to be perceived, rightly or wrongly, as calls for violence or as anti-Semitic remarks.”
She said she was aware that the situation on campus could change quickly. If it were to deteriorate, it would still be possible to go to court again, she wrote.
