Pro-Palestine demonstrators mark one week since the start of their encampment at King’s College Circle at the University of Toronto on May 9.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
University of Alberta president Bill Flanagan defended what he called a difficult decision to call in the Edmonton police to clear a pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the weekend.
Mr. Flanagan said he had received many messages expressing deep concern about the university’s actions. On Saturday morning, police officers moved in on protesters on the Alberta campus after notifying them that they were considered to be trespassing. Images circulated on social media of officers wielding batons advancing on protesters who scrambled out of their path.
The police action at the University of Alberta on Saturday was the second time police were called to clear a campus protest in the province, as flash-bang devices were deployed by police and five arrests made to clear an encampment at the University of Calgary two days earlier.
A movement calling for universities to disclose their investments and divest from those connected to Israel has spread across North America in recent weeks. Encampments are in place on several campuses across the country, from the University of British Columbia to McGill University and including new protests launched on the weekend at the University of Quebec at Montreal and the University of Winnipeg.
The protest camps have ignited tensions on many campuses. Administrators have said that while protest and debate are encouraged, they believe tents and camping on university grounds cannot be permitted.
McGill University said it will be in court Monday to seek an injunction against the encampment that has taken up a large portion of the green adjacent to the McLennan Library. Meanwhile protesters at the University of Toronto met with members of the school’s administration Sunday to discuss their demands.
In Edmonton, Mr. Flanagan said the university believes in free expression and the right to protest, but said it also has a duty of care to its community.
He issued a written statement to the university community in which he said the protesters had been collecting wood pallets, which were deemed a risk by the fire inspector. After the protest camp was dismantled, hammers, axes and screwdrivers were found, Mr. Flanagan said, which he described as “potential weapons.”
“Although the broader public might assume the encampment posed no risk, it is essential to underscore the serious and potentially life-threatening risks associated with the encampment in the quad,” Mr. Flanagan wrote. “There can be no question that the encampment posed a serious and imminent risk of potential violence and injury.”
Mr. Flanagan was not available for an interview Sunday.
He said in his statement that although he believed the majority of protesters posed no risk, he estimated only 25 per cent of those present were University of Alberta students.
Mr. Flanagan said the university does not have the resources or expertise to manage a large encampment while ensuring the safety of the public. He cited risks arising from illegal drug use or the potential for violence from counter protesters, as occurred at the University of California at Los Angeles in recent weeks.
He said the vast majority of protesters left peacefully. When a small minority refused to leave, Edmonton police “took the measures necessary to remove them,” he said.
Three people face charges ranging from assault of a peace officer, obstruction and trespassing, but none of those charged are members of the university community, according to Mr. Flanagan. He said the university has not banned any of its community members from campus as a result of their participation in the protest, nor have any been suspended or subject to academic sanctions.
A petition was circulated on social media calling for an official censure and academic boycott of the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary.
The Canadian Association of University Teachers, a national umbrella group that represents the interests of university faculty members, issued a statement condemning the actions of universities that have used police to clear and arrest protesters.
“The forcible removal and heavy-handed arrests of peaceful student protesters who pose no demonstrable threat to campus safety are inimical to the mission of post-secondary institutions,” the CAUT statement said.
“There is no justification for police crackdowns on peaceful assemblies on campus.”