Protesters set up encampment at McGill University in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza

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People protesting in support of Palestinians in Gaza set up several tents Saturday afternoon on the grounds of McGill University and plan to be there for the long haul.

The tents went up after 1:30 p.m. and a ring of more than 100 young people formed around the encampment and chanted slogans like “Palestine will live forever.”

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The protesters also held up signs with messages like “McGill funds genocide” on them.

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The protest was peaceful Saturday and within sight of several police vehicles parked near the Roddick Gates on Sherbrooke St.

A person who declined to give her name described herself as volunteer for the protest and said the protesters have been in talks with the university, but the administration asked them not to put up the tents. She also said they plan to be there “indefinitely.”

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Just before 3:30 p.m., the protesters on the grounds were joined by a large group that marched down Sherbrooke St. in a protest that  apparently was planned in advance as it was escorted by police officers on bicycles.

A woman leading the protest said they were students from both Concordia and McGill.

A McGill student who was part of the protest spoke to the Montreal Gazette but declined to give her name.

“We are here because we ran an institutional campaign last semester. We proposed a policy against genocide (in Gaza). We put it in the ballots and students voted overwhelmingly in support of it, about 80 per cent, and it had a record turnout for voters,” the young woman said.

“We had a 30-per-cent turnout when the referendums usually get about 10 per cent at most.

“(McGill’s) administration clamped down and completely ignored what came of the vote, and so we decided to heed the calls (of other students) in the U.S. and we’re committed to staying here.”

The McGill student said the march down Sherbrooke St. is a weekly event and it happened to coincide with the encampment set up on the grounds of the university.

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“You students have bravely defied your administration who month after month have caused repression. (Protesters) are doing so bravely and courageously because they know they are on the side of justice,” shouted a woman into a bullhorn as the two protests merged.

“They are setting up encampments where they will be indefinitely until their administrations clearly divest (from financial ties with Israel).”

In a statement emailed to the Gazette by the university’s communications department, it wrote the following: “We are aware of the tents being put up on the McGill downtown campus. Our security officers are on site.

“We support the rights of our campus community to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly within the bounds of McGill’s policies and the law. We also have a duty to create a respectful environment that creates the optimal conditions for carrying out our academic mission and that protects the health and safety of our community.

“We’ll have more information as events develop.”

pcherry@postmedia.com

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