Montreal police say 15 people have been arrested after a protest was forcibly dispersed McGill University Thursday.
Arrests are made among protesters Occupies the main administrative building On the downtown campus, police in riot gear fired chemical irritants.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have been camped out on McGill’s grounds since late April, demanding that the university divest investments linked to the Israeli military and sever ties with Israeli academic institutions.
The student group McGill for Palestinian Human Rights, which is involved in the encampment, said on social media that “a group of autonomous students” had occupied the James Administration Building.
About 100 protesters gathered in front of the building, a few hundred meters from the main camp.
A representative of the student group said the blockade of the administrative building was in response to global calls for an escalation in Rafah, the southern Gaza city where Israel is waging an offensive.
Rama al-Mallah said she was not involved in the occupation of the administrative building and said the blockade was also due to what protesters said was McGill's continued involvement in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
“We witnessed our students being brutalized and arrested in schools, but students largely refused to leave their campuses,” Al Mallah said. “They stayed in front of the administration building in support of their comrades and our demands.
Breaking news from Canada and around the world
Sent to your email, as it happens.
“Police fired tear gas and knocked people to the ground and physically assaulted them.”
A metal fence was erected in front of the building's entrance, and protesters stood in front of it, holding banners, including one that read “Genocide by McGill.”
Two banners, including one that read “You could have defunded 41 days ago,” hung from third-floor windows. Shortly after the protest began, police could be seen entering the building, with one officer removing one of the banners.
Police officers wearing helmets and masks flanked the building, monitoring the chanting protesters. Police also stood at several other entrances to the downtown campus to prevent people from entering.
About two hours after the protest began, about 20 police officers confronted protesters on the right side of the administrative building, most of whom chanted “Shame, shame” together.
Police then began clashing with some people in the crowd and fired chemical irritants to disperse the crowd, forcing people to run around and cover their mouths and eyes.
But that didn't work, and protesters regrouped soon after and confronted police again, chanting “Why are you wearing riot gear? There is no violence here.”
Riot police forcefully removed protesters from the administration building and drove them back to a camp in the lower grounds.
After about 45 minutes of a tense standoff, police fired a second round of chemical irritants and used batons and shields to violently push back protesters and disperse them from the building.
Later, police formed a line to block access to the building, while protesters gathered further away, at tents that have been set up on the lower grounds since late April.
“If you are injured, go to the camp, if you are not injured, go to the street,” a woman with a megaphone told the crowd of about 200 people.
Despite the rain, some protesters gathered on Sherbrooke Street.
The SPVM said in an update early Friday morning that the operation ended around 10:30 p.m. Thursday with the arrest of 13 people for burglary and two others for obstructing a police officer.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
