U of A president defends move to evict protesters
Encampment organizers scoff at claims community safety at risk
University of Alberta president Bill Flanagan is defending the school's decision to dismantle a pro-Palestine encampment, saying the gathering posed “serious and potentially life-threatening risks.”
Demonstrators challenge the claim and insist the camp was peaceful and the police response was disproportionate.
Edmonton city police in riot gear cleared the camp early Saturday morning after the university asked for help enforcing a trespass notice.
In a statement Sunday, Flanagan said the decision to order the camp's removal was “tremendously difficult.” One of the U of A's “core values” is freedom of expression, and space must be made for protests “that some in our community might find offensive or objectionable,” he said.
The university nevertheless has a legal and moral obligation to protect community safety and “take all reasonable measures to prevent harm.”
“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,” Flanagan stated.
Flanagan said police found “potential weapons” while clearing the camp, “including hammers, axes and screwdrivers, along with a box of needles.”
He said the majority of campers were peaceful and posed no threat. “However, this did not extend to all members of the encampment.”
Independent Jewish Voices Edmonton, one of the groups organizing the protest, said the tools were used to set up tents and hang banners.
The needles were “medical supplies brought by a certified first aid provider,” the organization said in a statement on social media.
Flanagan also highlighted the presence of wooden pallets “within 150 metres” of the camp, saying they posed a fire hazard. He said the pallets — which protesters said were brought in to elevate tents in the event of rain — could be used to construct barricades.
David Kahane, a political science professor and member of Independent Jewish Voices, said the university's claims about safety risks are “fatuously untrue.”
“I was in the camp for all but a few hours of its existence, and I never saw a single sign of aggression or violence. The university is invoking this threat of violence and attributing it to ... outsiders as an attempt to excuse something that is inexcusable.”
“It is ass-covering that is standing in the way of the university demonstrating its ability to reflect and take genuine accountability for a very serious mistake,” he said.
` HAD ANYONE BEEN INJURED OR KILLED'
The camp was erected Thursday and grew to around 40 tents and 50 people. Campers called for the university to cut financial ties with Israeli companies and institutions.
Flanagan claimed less than one-quarter of campers were U of A students, although the university has not explained how it arrived at that estimate. He said three people have been criminally charged, up from one person on Saturday. The names of those people have not been released but Flanagan said the charges include assaulting a peace officer, obstruction and trespassing,
The university and protesters disagree on the number of injuries suffered during the encampment removal. The university said no one was injured, while organizers claim four people were hurt and that one required hospitalization.
Flanagan claimed the risk of confrontation between protesters and counter-protesters was too much for the university's protective services unit to handle, citing violence at the University of Calgary and UCLA as examples.
“Had anyone been injured or killed, the responsibility for this would rest squarely with the university. Everyone would quite rightly demand, how could the university have done nothing to prevent this?”
He cited a large on-campus demonstration supporting the camp Saturday afternoon as the type of protest the university supports.
“They were welcomed on our campus and all peaceful protesters who comply with university policies will continue to be welcomed.”
He added, “As we all watch the ongoing acute humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the loss of so many innocent lives in this brutal conflict, I fully understand the deep concern and outrage many in our community may feel.”
The decision to remove the camp was condemned by the Alberta NDP, as well as legal experts who said it likely violated protesters' constitutional rights.
The Jewish Federation of Edmonton applauded the move, saying “universities have the right and obligation to administer their rules to ensure the safety of students, staff and faculty.”