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Arguing that the security situation at his university has deteriorated due to the pro-Palestinian encampment that has been there for over a week, the rector of the Université du Québec à Montréal said the school may file an injunction to have the protesters removed.
In a letter sent to school personnel Tuesday, UQAM rector Stéphane Pallage said the encampment has been infiltrated by non-students who have been stockpiling “diverse materials” including pieces of asphalt, “which represent a risk.” Three access points to the university are blocked off, more barricades have been erected, and individuals dressed in black with their faces covered “intimidate those who approach the barricades,” he wrote.
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“Staff are complaining of a growing sense of insecurity.”
On Monday, Montreal police clashed with protesters they said were from the UQAM site who attempted to block two busy downtown thoroughfares around 3:30 p.m.
Video of the intervention shows officers in riot gear firing gas canisters, as well as shoving and aggressively striking protesters with batons. Police said protesters did not heed their demands to disperse and they were forced to use pepper spray and batons. Spokespersons for the encampment said on social media the police crackdown came without warning or notices to disperse.
“The camp set up at UQAM is certainly made up of students whose objective is to defend a cause. It is also unfortunately infiltrated by one or more groups whose objective is completely different,” Pallage wrote to staff members. “Yesterday, after blocking the corner of St-Urbain (St.) and Président-Kennedy (Ave.), around 30 of these hooded people erected a new barricade with wooden pallets. This is not acceptable in a university.
“The university is seeking a peaceful end to this encampment, but can only do so if the occupants themselves want peace. I am no longer very sure of that today.”
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Pallage said he met with four people representing the encampment Friday to engage in open dialogue and hear their concerns. He said he told them of the importance for the university to have full access to all its entry points, and for everyone to feel they’re in a safe environment.
“I told them that those two conditions are not negotiable and that I would not hesitate to seek an injunction if either of the two was not satisfied. Four days later, the situation on these two points deteriorated.”
Pallage said his requests to visit the camp were refused, as was a request by Montreal’s fire department last week.
“I intend to continue the dialogue, of course. But it is important for you to know that, in this camp, we are not only dealing with a group of students with whom, I am sure, we can find a way out.”
The encampment was erected May 12 at the university’s Pierre Dansereau science complex, following one that has been in place at McGill University for three weeks and others across North America and Europe.
It occupies an open space on campus that connects several buildings. Steel fences, tarps and Palestinian flags block people from entering the camp itself, but most doors to the university’s buildings remain accessible. In his letter, Pallage said protesters at the encampment had been in an altercation with a journalist, and with two police officers who were attempting to stop graffiti from replacing the name Pierre Dansereau with Al-Aqsa.
Last week, a Quebec court rejected McGill University’s request for an injunction to have a pro-Palestinian encampment removed from the field on its downtown campus. Quebec Superior Court Justice Marc St-Pierre characterized the university’s request as “ill-founded,” noting that, because of a lack of apparent urgency involved in the request, “the circumstances of the present case do not justify the Superior Court to issue an order to force the evacuation of the plaintiffs’ land by the demonstrators.”
Groups that oppose a removal by police argue it would infringe on the protesters’ right to freedom of expression. They also argue the McGill encampment has been a peaceful demonstration since the first tents went up on April 27.
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