Since May 1st, a group of protesters advocating for freedom in Palestine has been occupying a section of UVic’s campus, demanding that the university divest from any Israeli investments and demand an end to the ongoing siege on Gaza.
On Monday, July 22nd, the group dubbed ‘People’s Park UVic’ vacated after negotiations with the university came to a standstill and they were served a notice stating they were officially trespassing.
“As of this afternoon, members of the People’s Park UVic have vacated the encampment,” wrote a UVic spokesperson in a statement.
“Work to restore the Quad and prepare it for the fall return of students has begun.”
The university claims that they have been committed to engaging in thoughtful and respectful dialogue since the earliest days of the encampment, but after People’s Park UVic shared that the university would not agree to their demands, negotiations ceased.
“UVic has always, and continues to, support free expression. We support peaceful, safe and lawful protest, and our faculty’s academic freedom,” said UVic.
“We understand that this has been a challenging and deeply divisive time and appreciate the efforts that many are making to respond with empathy and patience. Further updates will be provided in the coming days.”
Related:
- Encampment for peace in Palestine says UVic has cut off negotiations
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- Protest camp grows on UVic quad as students seek peace for Palestine
People’s Park UVic released a statement of their own after vacating the premises.
“We The People’s Park ended our encampment this morning due to the continued policing and escalatory measures taken by the university of “victoria.” [sic] This decision was not made lightly and the fight is far from over,” said People’s Park UVic in their statement.
They say they have been surveilled 24/7 by campus security, hired private security and multiple police agencies and they have also been subject to violent harassment and assault from agitators that the University was unable to protect them from.
They added that the threat of an injunction or lawsuit was a contributing factor in their decision to leave.
“We also acknowledge that the tactic of the encampment has run its course in terms of effectively pressuring the University to accept our demands,” People’s Park continued.
Instead of trying to get their demands agreed to via occupying their encampment, the protesters say they will be changing their strategies to continue pressuring UVic.
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