Gaza protest encampment grows on Edmonton campus after Calgary sit-in ended by police

A campus protest encampment at the University of Alberta was ramping up a day after a similar sit-in in Calgary was shut down amid the loud noise and haze of flashbang explosives as police clashed with demonstrators.

On the central grassy area of the Edmonton campus Friday, about 35 small tents were set up close together. There were Palestinian flags, both cloth versions and hand-painted cardboard ones.

Early-rising demonstrators, most in their early 20s, sipped coffee as the sun rose, chatting in camp chairs underneath an awning.

Nearby was a handwritten sign reminding protesters to keep the focus on solidarity with Gaza and to direct all media to designated spokespeople.

There were multiple handmade signs and slogans: Our Tuition Funds Genocide; Silence is Violence; Welcome to the People’s University for Palestine; and From Edmonton to Gaza Globalize the Intifada.

Clutches of summer-school students shouldering backpacks walked by, with a few breaking stride to see what was going on.

“At the very beginning yesterday, it was one tent and four people. And it has just grown and grown and grown since then,” said David Kahane, one of the protest organizers.

Kahane, a political science professor on campus, said the protest is about students holding their own institution to account in the “slaughter that is happening in the West Bank and Gaza.”

Kahane said they want answers on whether Israel — and through it the Israeli military — benefits financially through university investments. If the university is investing, those investments must stop, he said.

He said students are inspired by time-honoured protest methods and that campus protests and calls for divestment helped end the racist apartheid system in South Africa.

“They want to call for accountability from their own university,” said Kahane.

The university has warned protesters that while it respects free speech, they are trespassing.

---

University of Alberta Trespass Notice on Scribd

---

“Besides our two notices that were handed to us by security personnel, we have had no communication with administration or university officials. And we were quite surprised by their statement once that they released to the university community stating that they had open and ongoing communications with us. It’s just simply not true,” said Nour Salhi, encampment media spokesperson.

“To account by letting us know that we could be facing fines of $10,000 and upwards or six months arrest.”

There was no visible security staff from the university and no police Friday morning, and Kahane said he hopes it stays that way

“It’s day-by-day, waiting and seeing how the university chooses to respond,” he said.

“For the moment, I think wisely, they have simply let this peaceful encampment for justice be.

“I hope they continue on that track.”

Edmonton police issued a statement Friday afternoon saying, “The EPS is aware of the current protest encampment on campus and has met with the University of Alberta. UofA Protective Services Peace Officers are leading the response to this encampment.

“The EPS will continue to respond to criminal events, matters of public safety and calls for service on campus. As always in public demonstrations, police must balance individual rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms with the responsibility to enforce the law and investigate criminal actions.

“As demonstrations are dynamic situations, EPS will continue to work closely with UofA Protective Services to update our approach if conditions change. Public safety is our main priority.”

The protest is one of several recent demonstrations on academic campuses in Canada and the United States in response to Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

In Calgary, a similar protest of tents and fences went up early Thursday at the University of Calgary, reaching a peak of about 150 demonstrators by the early evening.

The university said protesters at the encampment were trespassing and asked for help from police, who arrived in riot gear and issued multiple warnings for the crowd to disperse before starting to tear down fencing and tents.

Most protesters left but some who remained were met with shields and flashbang explosives in clashes close to midnight.

CityNews asked protesters on the U of A campus what they thought of how Calgary police’s actions.

“Historically, we’ve noticed that CPS tends to be more violent than EPS. And we also hope that our protectors [police] who literally swore to protect and serve us fulfill those oaths and so we hope that they do not follow suit,” said Salhi.

“Unfortunately, it was a bit expected, but also very disheartening, and we are appalled by their actions. We stand in solidarity with our friends down in U of C, we actually joined during campaigns, collectively, at 5 a.m. yesterday.”

However, Premier Danielle Smith supports actions by Calgary police and that it is a lesson for Edmonton.

“The universities have to take a lead on this, it’s their private property. I think what they found in Calgary is that a large number of people trespassing are not students, and we have to be mindful of that,” said Smith.

“I’m glad that the University of Calgary made the decision they did, there are there are appropriate ways to peacefully protest but they said no camping and they also want to make sure that it says students who are on the campus as well. So I love watching see what the University of Alberta learns from what they observed in Calgary. But if they were on standby to be able to provide any assistance should they ask.”

-With files from Laura Krause and Cole Fortner, CityNews