Join the wave of university occupations in solidarity with the people of Gaza
There is currently a significant wave of student occupations of university buildings taking place in solidarity with the people of Gaza. There are at least eleven of these occupations that I know of already, and more on the cards. See below for links to the blogs that these occupations have set up, as well as photos and video footage. The Communist Students Executive urges members, supporters and friends to get involved with the occupations and show support where they can. Where the are no occupations yet, we urge comrades to join with others and seek to extend and strengthen this impressive wave of occupations. As can be seen from the comments to this post, linking up with militant workers can be an important part of this protest. While some occupations have achieved their aims, spontaneous actions like this also pose the need for a communist student movement and communist international to lead and deepen our anti-imperialist struggles and create a lasting change in the Middle East.
If you hear of any new developments then get in touch via phone, email or the comments box.
Last night in London a number of us turned up at Kings College in London for a Hands Off the People of Iran meeting on Gaza that we had helped to organise. When we got there we found out that students at Kings had occupied one of the rooms in the building where our meeting was to take place. We went up with our speaker (Israeli socialist Moshe Machover) and suggested that we join the occupation and have our meeting there, which we did. Moshe spoke to around 60 people about the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the nature of Zionism. He then broadened the picture out to look at the region as a whole arguing that what is needed is a social revolution across the Arab region. To listen to his speech, click here. To read some of what Moshe has written previously, follow these links: The Class Character of Israel; Hell for Palestinians.
Here is a video extract of his speech to the King’s occupation
And here is a video of a speech he gave to Communist University last year.
* SOAS: http://soassolidarity4gaza.blogspot.com
* LSE: http://lseoccupation.blogspot.com
* Kings: http://kcloccupation.blogspot.com
* Warwick: http://warwicksolidaritysitin.wordpress.com
* Essex: http://www.visitpalestine.asia/page.cfm/id/98207
* Birmingham: http://birminghamoccupation.wordpress.com
* Sussex: http://sussexoccupation.blogspot.com
* NEW TODAY: Bodleian building, Oxford: http://occupiedoxford.wordpress.com
*NEW Fri 23rd: Leeds University occupied: http://leedsunioccupation.blogspot.com/
Also Newcastle, Manchester Metropolitan, and Nottingham Trent have gone into occupation.
Video footage from the Oxford occupation:
Some photos we took at the HOPI meeting during the Kings occupation:
I am sitting in the ‘Freedom Theatre’ in the Geofrey Manton Building at MMU. We are occupying the building under siege as food or new people cannot enter and have been stopped entering by the knuckle dragging security guards.
For more info please go to: http://mmuoccupation.blogspot.com/
Victory to the Students!
Victory to the people of Palestine!
Great news Chris! Keep us updated as and when you can.
The UNISON secretary is currently negotiating food for us.
Good times! I’m going to see what potential Sheffield has for an occupation…
I’ve just spoken to Chris on the phone and the unions have managed to force the security guards to let food in. Good old student-worker unity!
Nice
Over ruled by management who have admitted to wanting to starve us out.
We are still staying and trying to get GMB National Office to support us by oulling discipline on their members.
Leeds University is also occupied:
‘At 4.30pm today [Thursday] around 30 people occupied the Botany House building (near the Student Union) at Leeds University in protest against the attacks on Gaza.
Our initial demands are:
University
Open the books to show which companies that back the Israeli state the Uni is investing in and/or receiving funding from.
Disinvestment from said companies
To Release a statement condemning the Israeli state’s attacks and blockade on Gaza
Surplus resources (computers, books etc) to be sent to students in Gaza
Scholarships for at least five Gazan students to study in Leeds
No repercussion, legal or otherwise for activists
Political
We call on the government to condemn the Israeli state’s attacks and blockade on Gaza
To expel the Israeli ambassador from the UK
For Israeli diplomats to lose their diplomatic status and be tried for their part in the attacks
Demand the government does not send any military support to assist in the blockade or attacks on Gaza
We stand in full solidarity with the Gazan people and protesters around the world, including the occupiers at other universities.’
I have just got back from the continuing occupation, the vice chancellor of MMU is refusing to negotiate with us and thinks he can starve us out of the occupation.
Unfortunately that strategy has fallen down as the staff, UNISON and UCU have backed us and have been bringing us food and hot drinks as well as organising printing for us. Staff are discussing what actions they would like to take in solidarity and what they could do to help us.
We have two worries at the moment:
1. MMU Students will be expelled
2. The police will clear us out like they did in Birmingham.
We are in the media, I spoke to Manchester Evening News earlier and they were very supportive.
The biggest problem we have is numbers, the management has put heavy security on all doors sifting through activists, MMU students and non MMU students. Only those with I.D cards and who are not identifiable militants can enter.
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Leeds University occupation started yesterday in the Botany House.
http://leedsunioccupation.blogspot.com/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jan/23/student-protests-gaza
Tells you the situation as of Friday
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Report on 24th Jan Gaza demo:
http://thecommune.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/photo-report-of-24th-january-london-gaza-demo/
Sheffield Hallam was occupied yesterday afternoon, approx 20 people or so I’ve heard. Going down later and will report back.
Sheff Hallam occupation has a blog here: http://shuoccupation.blogspot.com/
Comrades,
Students at Sheffield Hallam University occupied a lecture theater
yesterday, Weds 28th at 3pm, protesting Israel’s occupation of and war
on Gaza (demands below). There were reportedly around 75 students at the
initial occupation. When I arrived today, students were doing shifts and
there were 10 people in the small lecture room, down the hall from the
Vice Chancellor’s office, making a banner. I and another HOPI supporter
distributed leaflets for the upcoming meeting in Sheffield on the 5th,
and I distributed the latest issue of Communist Student. The location
was hardly the best for maximum impact, being on the 5th floor at the
back of the building; apparently SWP incompetence is to blame- I
wondered why they didn’t go straight for the V.C.’s office.
The protesters were addressed by a speaker from
the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who raised no criticisms of Hamas. The protesters were locked in overnight, but mostly ignored by
the university authorities until this afternoon, when they were told the
university would not accept any of their demands and that police will be
arriving at 9pm to eject them. N.B. I couldn’t get hold of a camera but
will get pics from Indymedia when they are up.
Website: http://shuoccupation.blogspot.com/
Laurie
The student’s demands
1) Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) to release a statement of
condemnation of the Israeli state’s attacks on Gaza
2) SHU to provide scholarships for Gazan students and waive all current
applications and tuition fees for Palestinian students.
3) SHU to twin with the University of Gaza, sending old books, computers
and other equipment to the University of Gaza.
4) The ban on flyering and posters on campus to be lifted immediately
allowing students to organise and allow free speech, in line with the
University’s current no-platform policy against fascists.
5) To have posters advertising the details for the Disasters Emergency
Committee Gaza Appeal on all notice boards around the university.
6) No victimisation of students or staff supporting the occupation in
any form.
Manchester and Strathclyde went into occupation today. I have heard that around 150 students joined the occupation at Manchester Uni!
Report on Strathclyde:
http://pulsemedia.org/2009/02/04/strathclyde-university-occupied-by-students/
Laurie
Success for students in occupation of Strathclyde University!
Just got this message from Strathclyde…
SUCCESS!
After a 24 hour occupation of Registry, three negotiation sessions with the university authorities and a students’ association that opposed the actions, we managed to win a series of promises from the University administration:
– The Eden Springs contract has been CANCELLED
– Scholarships will be provided for 1-3 (and potentially more) Palestinian students
– The DEC appeal will be publicised on campus and on the University homepage
– The University will re-establish its link with the University of Gaza
– The University denies that it has any links with BAE systems beyond the company funding one student to the sum of £5000 in the engineering department. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, and we shall investigate this further.
Thank you to everyone for your support in the campaign and the solidarity you expressed. End the occupation – free Palestine!
Here is a report of the Leeds Uni occupation, complete with quotes from one of our comrades in Leeds: http://www.leedsstudent.org/ls1/news/extremists-stirup-tensions-on-campus.html
Edinburgh, Goldsmiths and UEL in Norwich have all occupied now. Plus students at Rochester, New York in the USA also occupied recently and are now claiming a victory. This wave continues to spread. It is important that we don’t become complacent though. There have been some small successes and a lot of potential shown, but we must bring politics to the fore.
Post this date on your calendars! April 6, 2009 there will be a GENERAL STRIKE AND DAY OF RAGE against Egyptian Mubarak capitalistic dictatorship. All Comrades world wide, let’s join in our struggle to spread the news everywhere! Encourage the people to join the strike! Organize a protest in front of Egyptian Embassy! What ever you can do, JUST DO IT! Spread this message now! We must be able to count on each other and support one another! Now is the time! NOW IS OUR CHANCE!
We are doing this strike because We need salaries allowing us to live, we need to work, we want our children to get education, we need human transportation means, we want hospitals to get treatment, we want medicines for our children, we need just judiciary, we want security, we want freedom and dignity, we want apartments for youth; We don’t want prices increase, we don’t want favoritism, we don’t want police in plain clothes, we don’t want torture in police stations, we don’t want corruption, we don’t want bribes, we don’t want detentions. We don’t want privistation, we don’t want another 25 years of emergency law, we don’t want forged elections, and we want a fair distribution of wealth, we WANT THE REMOVAL OF MUBARAK FROM POWER, WE WANT A BETTER FUTURE TO OUR CHILDREN
Please write me back and join our day of rage thank for reading
Yours Ahmed
Write back to ahmedyounis60@hotmail.com