US police break up student sit-in in solidarity with Gaza at George Washington University
[08/May/2024]
WASHINGTON May 08. 2024 (Saba) - U.S. police evacuated a camp held by pro-Palestinian students at George Washington University on Wednesday after arresting several people at dawn.
The student-run newspaper JW Hatchet reported that after 4 a.m., hundreds of police stormed the university square, arrested students and used pepper spray.
CNN said about 30 people had been arrested.
The arrests came as the mayor of Washington, D.C., and the police chief were expected to testify before Congress later in the day about why they waited more than a week to evacuate the camp.
The police department said in a statement that it had tried to "de-escalate tensions" without arrests, but based on "incidents and information, there has been a gradual escalation in the protest."
Protests have erupted at several universities across the country in recent weeks, with students demonstrating against the war in Gaza and calling on universities to cut direct or indirect financial ties with U.S. arms manufacturers and Israeli institutions.
E.M
[08/May/2024]
WASHINGTON May 08. 2024 (Saba) - U.S. police evacuated a camp held by pro-Palestinian students at George Washington University on Wednesday after arresting several people at dawn.
The student-run newspaper JW Hatchet reported that after 4 a.m., hundreds of police stormed the university square, arrested students and used pepper spray.
CNN said about 30 people had been arrested.
The arrests came as the mayor of Washington, D.C., and the police chief were expected to testify before Congress later in the day about why they waited more than a week to evacuate the camp.
The police department said in a statement that it had tried to "de-escalate tensions" without arrests, but based on "incidents and information, there has been a gradual escalation in the protest."
Protests have erupted at several universities across the country in recent weeks, with students demonstrating against the war in Gaza and calling on universities to cut direct or indirect financial ties with U.S. arms manufacturers and Israeli institutions.
E.M
BY LAUREN IRWIN - 05/08/24 - THE HILL
Police began clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment on George Washington University’s campus early Wednesday morning, and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee announced it would cancel a planned hearing with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser about the District’s response to the demonstrations.
According to the student paper, The GW Hatchet, hundreds of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers descended on H Street to clear out University Yard, where students began protesting April 25.
Police released a statement Wednesday saying officers have worked to pursue “non-arrest methods to deescalate tensions” to ensure the safety of the students, but there has been a gradual escalation “in the volatility of the protest.”
Videos shared online show students protesting outside university President Ellen Granberg’s home in D.C. MPD said it worked with GW administration and campus police to disperse the demonstrators from campus and surrounding streets.
“During the course of the operation, arrests were made for Assault on a Police Officer and Unlawful Entry,” MPD’s statement said. “MPD will continue to be supportive of universities or other private entities who need assistance.”
The police activity follows a Sunday letter from Granberg to local D.C. officials asking for their help to increase police presence around the demonstrations. Students denounced Granberg’s alleged refusal to meet with organizers about their demands, the Hatchet reported.
Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement that a hearing on the protests that had been set for later Wednesday was no longer necessary.
“I had a good conversation with Mayor Bowser. I thanked her for finally clearing the trespassers off the GW Campus. It was unfortunate the situation at GW forced the Oversight Committee to act; however it was apparent that the DC police force was not going to do their job,” Comer said.
During the clearing Wednesday, at least two officers deployed pepper spray on protesters, the Hatchet reported. Video shared online shows protesters being sprayed and backing away from officers.
MPD said in a press conference Wednesday morning that no officers were seriously injured. When asked if students could set up protests elsewhere on campus, MPD said it is up to Granberg, but they would no longer be allowed to encamp on the university quad area.
GW said in a statement reported by The Associated Press that it is committed to protecting students’ right to free expression, but the “encampment had evolved into an unlawful activity, with participants in direct violation of multiple university policies and city regulations.”
In a statement released later Wednesday, the university said the GW Police Department and MPD warned demonstrators to leave, and those who remained were arrested.
The campus remains open and final examinations are proceeding as scheduled, the university said. An increased police presence will remain on University Yard and the surrounding area, which will remain closed until after the commencement ceremony on May 19.
The GW protests mirror those happening on college campuses across the country. More than 2,000 arrests have occurred since demonstrators began asking their universities to divest from Israeli companies or companies that supply Israel with weapons.
Police began clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment on George Washington University’s campus early Wednesday morning, and the House Oversight and Accountability Committee announced it would cancel a planned hearing with Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser about the District’s response to the demonstrations.
According to the student paper, The GW Hatchet, hundreds of Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers descended on H Street to clear out University Yard, where students began protesting April 25.
Police released a statement Wednesday saying officers have worked to pursue “non-arrest methods to deescalate tensions” to ensure the safety of the students, but there has been a gradual escalation “in the volatility of the protest.”
Videos shared online show students protesting outside university President Ellen Granberg’s home in D.C. MPD said it worked with GW administration and campus police to disperse the demonstrators from campus and surrounding streets.
“During the course of the operation, arrests were made for Assault on a Police Officer and Unlawful Entry,” MPD’s statement said. “MPD will continue to be supportive of universities or other private entities who need assistance.”
The police activity follows a Sunday letter from Granberg to local D.C. officials asking for their help to increase police presence around the demonstrations. Students denounced Granberg’s alleged refusal to meet with organizers about their demands, the Hatchet reported.
Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement that a hearing on the protests that had been set for later Wednesday was no longer necessary.
“I had a good conversation with Mayor Bowser. I thanked her for finally clearing the trespassers off the GW Campus. It was unfortunate the situation at GW forced the Oversight Committee to act; however it was apparent that the DC police force was not going to do their job,” Comer said.
During the clearing Wednesday, at least two officers deployed pepper spray on protesters, the Hatchet reported. Video shared online shows protesters being sprayed and backing away from officers.
MPD said in a press conference Wednesday morning that no officers were seriously injured. When asked if students could set up protests elsewhere on campus, MPD said it is up to Granberg, but they would no longer be allowed to encamp on the university quad area.
GW said in a statement reported by The Associated Press that it is committed to protecting students’ right to free expression, but the “encampment had evolved into an unlawful activity, with participants in direct violation of multiple university policies and city regulations.”
In a statement released later Wednesday, the university said the GW Police Department and MPD warned demonstrators to leave, and those who remained were arrested.
The campus remains open and final examinations are proceeding as scheduled, the university said. An increased police presence will remain on University Yard and the surrounding area, which will remain closed until after the commencement ceremony on May 19.
The GW protests mirror those happening on college campuses across the country. More than 2,000 arrests have occurred since demonstrators began asking their universities to divest from Israeli companies or companies that supply Israel with weapons.
Police clear pro-Palestinian protest camp and arrest 33 at DC campus as mayor’s hearing is canceled
PUBLISHED: May 8, 2024
By ASHRAF KHALIL (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Police used pepper spray to clear a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University and arrested dozens of demonstrators on Wednesday just as city officials were set to appear before hostile lawmakers in Congress to account for their handling of the 2-week-old protest.
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability canceled the hearing after the crackdown, with its chairman and other Republicans welcoming the police action. House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “it should not require threatening to haul D.C.’s mayor before Congress to keep Jewish students at George Washington University safe.”
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said she and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith decided to clear the camp because of signs that “the protest was becoming more volatile and less stable.” Among them were indications that protesters had “gathered improvised weapons” and were “casing” university buildings with the possible intention of occupying them, police said.
Tensions have ratcheted up in standoffs with protesters of the Israel-Hamas war on campuses across the United States and increasingly in Europe. Some colleges cracked down immediately. Others have tolerated the demonstrations. Some have begun to lose patience and call in the police over concerns about disruptions to campus life and safety.
Police also moved in Tuesday night to break up an encampment at the University of Massachusetts. Video from the scene in Amherst showed an hourslong operation as dozens of police officers in riot gear systematically tore down tents and took protesters into custody. The operation continued into early Wednesday. Police said about 130 people had been arrested after protesters refused orders to disperse.
“I found it to be a complete overreaction,” said Lucas Ruud, editor-in-chief of The Massachusetts Daily Collegian. “It was a completely unnecessary show of force.” The staff of the college newspaper counted more than 100 police vehicles on campus for the crackdown.
In Washington, police said they arrested 33 people at the George Washington protest, including for assault on a police officer and unlawful entry. They confirmed they used pepper spray outside the encampment against protesters who were trying to break police lines and enter.
George Washington had warned of possible suspensions for continuing the camp on University Yard. Protesters carrying signs reading “Free Palestine” and “Hands off Rafah” also marched to school President Ellen Granberg’s home Tuesday night.
The school said in a statement that while it is committed to free expression, “the encampment had evolved into an unlawful activity, with participants in direct violation of multiple university policies and city regulations.” It said later that normal operations had resumed after the “orderly and safe operation” to disperse the demonstrators.”
President Joe Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said the president believes the right to dissent is “fundamental to who we are, but it cannot lead to disorder and violence, threats, vandalism, trespassing and/or shutting down campuses. Students have the right to be safe, and antisemitism is repugnant, and we’ve been very clear about that.”
Throughout the roughly two weeks of the encampment, the scene had been largely tranquil.
The tightly organized demonstrators and pro-Israeli counter-protesters who stood along the edges interacted without serious conflict. Some of the most charged confrontations involved people objecting to the treatment of a George Washington statue, wrapped with Palestinian scarves and flags with “Genocidal Warmonger University” spraypainted on its base.
Since April 18, about 2,800 people have been arrested on 50 campuses — figures based on Associated Press reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies after this latest anti-war movement was launched by a protest at Columbia University in New York.
At other U.S. schools:
—Student protesters at the University of Vermont ended their nine-day encampment Wednesday. Among their demands, protesters wanted the school to cancel Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as commencement speaker because of U.S. votes blocking cease-fire resolutions. The school said Friday that Thomas-Greenfield would not give the address.
—A pro-Palestinian tent encampment was cleared by officers in riot gear at the University of Chicago on Tuesday after administrators who had initially adopted a permissive approach said the protesters had crossed a line. Hundreds of protesters had gathered for at least eight days until administrators warned them Friday to leave or face removal.
—The president of Wesleyan University, a liberal arts school in Connecticut, commended the on-campus demonstration, which includes a pro-Palestinian tent encampment, as an act of political expression. The camp there has grown from about 20 tents a week ago to more than 100. “The protesters’ cause is important — bringing attention to the killing of innocent people,” university President Michael Roth wrote to the campus community. “And we continue to make space for them to do so, as long as that space is not disruptive to campus operations.”
—The Rhode Island School of Design’s president, Crystal Williams, spent more than five hours with protesters discussing their demands after students started occupying a building Monday. On Tuesday, the school announced it was relocating classes from the building.
—New York City police arrested 50 people outside the Fashion Institute of Technology on Tuesday evening after protesters who had been rallying nearby arrived to support a student encampment.
In Amherst, school Chancellor Javier Reyes said he ordered the sweep after talks over a wide range of demands failed to yield an agreement to dismantle the encampment and engage in “constructive discussions.”
A week ago, the George Washington encampment was host to a somewhat chaotic visit from several Republican members of the House oversight panel who criticized the protests and condemned Bowser’s refusal at that point to send in police.
“We did not have any violence to interrupt on the GW campus,” she said then.
But in the early hours of Wednesday, hundreds of Metropolitan Police Department officers descended on the scene, reported The GW Hatchet, the university’s student newspaper.
At least two officers deployed pepper spray on protesters, who then set up an impromptu medical area at a market near the campus, the paper said. Organizers ran to a convenience store to buy water to rinse their eyes.
The oversight hearing, now scrapped, was another pressure point in the fraught relationship between Republicans in Congress and officials in the heavily Democratic district. Donald Trump has threatened a federal “takeover” of the city, to control crime, if he wins back the White House.
The district is already a federal enclave, though with a measure of self-government and its own police department, which the federal government can already exert control over in some emergencies.
___
Associated Press journalists around the U.S. and the world contributed, including Charles Rex Arbogast, Pat Eaton-Robb, Steve LeBlanc, Jeff Amy, Christopher Weber, Mike Corder, Barbara Surk, Rick Callahan, Sarah Brumfield and Pietro de Cristofaro.
By ASHRAF KHALIL (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Police used pepper spray to clear a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University and arrested dozens of demonstrators on Wednesday just as city officials were set to appear before hostile lawmakers in Congress to account for their handling of the 2-week-old protest.
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability canceled the hearing after the crackdown, with its chairman and other Republicans welcoming the police action. House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “it should not require threatening to haul D.C.’s mayor before Congress to keep Jewish students at George Washington University safe.”
District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, said she and Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith decided to clear the camp because of signs that “the protest was becoming more volatile and less stable.” Among them were indications that protesters had “gathered improvised weapons” and were “casing” university buildings with the possible intention of occupying them, police said.
Tensions have ratcheted up in standoffs with protesters of the Israel-Hamas war on campuses across the United States and increasingly in Europe. Some colleges cracked down immediately. Others have tolerated the demonstrations. Some have begun to lose patience and call in the police over concerns about disruptions to campus life and safety.
Police also moved in Tuesday night to break up an encampment at the University of Massachusetts. Video from the scene in Amherst showed an hourslong operation as dozens of police officers in riot gear systematically tore down tents and took protesters into custody. The operation continued into early Wednesday. Police said about 130 people had been arrested after protesters refused orders to disperse.
“I found it to be a complete overreaction,” said Lucas Ruud, editor-in-chief of The Massachusetts Daily Collegian. “It was a completely unnecessary show of force.” The staff of the college newspaper counted more than 100 police vehicles on campus for the crackdown.
In Washington, police said they arrested 33 people at the George Washington protest, including for assault on a police officer and unlawful entry. They confirmed they used pepper spray outside the encampment against protesters who were trying to break police lines and enter.
George Washington had warned of possible suspensions for continuing the camp on University Yard. Protesters carrying signs reading “Free Palestine” and “Hands off Rafah” also marched to school President Ellen Granberg’s home Tuesday night.
The school said in a statement that while it is committed to free expression, “the encampment had evolved into an unlawful activity, with participants in direct violation of multiple university policies and city regulations.” It said later that normal operations had resumed after the “orderly and safe operation” to disperse the demonstrators.”
President Joe Biden’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said the president believes the right to dissent is “fundamental to who we are, but it cannot lead to disorder and violence, threats, vandalism, trespassing and/or shutting down campuses. Students have the right to be safe, and antisemitism is repugnant, and we’ve been very clear about that.”
Throughout the roughly two weeks of the encampment, the scene had been largely tranquil.
The tightly organized demonstrators and pro-Israeli counter-protesters who stood along the edges interacted without serious conflict. Some of the most charged confrontations involved people objecting to the treatment of a George Washington statue, wrapped with Palestinian scarves and flags with “Genocidal Warmonger University” spraypainted on its base.
Since April 18, about 2,800 people have been arrested on 50 campuses — figures based on Associated Press reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies after this latest anti-war movement was launched by a protest at Columbia University in New York.
At other U.S. schools:
—Student protesters at the University of Vermont ended their nine-day encampment Wednesday. Among their demands, protesters wanted the school to cancel Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, as commencement speaker because of U.S. votes blocking cease-fire resolutions. The school said Friday that Thomas-Greenfield would not give the address.
—A pro-Palestinian tent encampment was cleared by officers in riot gear at the University of Chicago on Tuesday after administrators who had initially adopted a permissive approach said the protesters had crossed a line. Hundreds of protesters had gathered for at least eight days until administrators warned them Friday to leave or face removal.
—The president of Wesleyan University, a liberal arts school in Connecticut, commended the on-campus demonstration, which includes a pro-Palestinian tent encampment, as an act of political expression. The camp there has grown from about 20 tents a week ago to more than 100. “The protesters’ cause is important — bringing attention to the killing of innocent people,” university President Michael Roth wrote to the campus community. “And we continue to make space for them to do so, as long as that space is not disruptive to campus operations.”
—The Rhode Island School of Design’s president, Crystal Williams, spent more than five hours with protesters discussing their demands after students started occupying a building Monday. On Tuesday, the school announced it was relocating classes from the building.
—New York City police arrested 50 people outside the Fashion Institute of Technology on Tuesday evening after protesters who had been rallying nearby arrived to support a student encampment.
In Amherst, school Chancellor Javier Reyes said he ordered the sweep after talks over a wide range of demands failed to yield an agreement to dismantle the encampment and engage in “constructive discussions.”
A week ago, the George Washington encampment was host to a somewhat chaotic visit from several Republican members of the House oversight panel who criticized the protests and condemned Bowser’s refusal at that point to send in police.
“We did not have any violence to interrupt on the GW campus,” she said then.
But in the early hours of Wednesday, hundreds of Metropolitan Police Department officers descended on the scene, reported The GW Hatchet, the university’s student newspaper.
At least two officers deployed pepper spray on protesters, who then set up an impromptu medical area at a market near the campus, the paper said. Organizers ran to a convenience store to buy water to rinse their eyes.
The oversight hearing, now scrapped, was another pressure point in the fraught relationship between Republicans in Congress and officials in the heavily Democratic district. Donald Trump has threatened a federal “takeover” of the city, to control crime, if he wins back the White House.
The district is already a federal enclave, though with a measure of self-government and its own police department, which the federal government can already exert control over in some emergencies.
___
Associated Press journalists around the U.S. and the world contributed, including Charles Rex Arbogast, Pat Eaton-Robb, Steve LeBlanc, Jeff Amy, Christopher Weber, Mike Corder, Barbara Surk, Rick Callahan, Sarah Brumfield and Pietro de Cristofaro.
US Universities: Respect Peaceful Protests for Palestinians
(New York) – Human Rights Watch has for many years extensively documented grave abuses and repression in Israel and Palestine. Students at US public and private universities have engaged in peaceful protests against Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attacks that have resulted in thousands of Palestinian civilian deaths and a humanitarian catastrophe.
International human rights law protects the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and obligates government authorities at all levels, including at public universities, to facilitate such assemblies and avoid imposing unnecessary or disproportionate restrictions. Private universities should also respect human rights and avoid contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their activities.
The following can be attributed to Tanya Greene, US program director at Human Rights Watch:
“Freedom of speech and assembly, including public protest, are human rights and essential to a functioning democratic system. Students in the United States have protested to support the civil rights movement, to resist the Vietnam War, to oppose apartheid in South Africa, and to challenge many other government policies throughout the country's history.
“University administrations and the police should not silence US students’ peaceful expression of their support for the rights of the Palestinian people amid the atrocities in Gaza and their objection to their universities' investments.
“Universities should investigate and address allegations of antisemitic and Islamophobic speech and attacks on a case-by-case basis, through fair and transparent processes. But mass suspensions, expulsions, and arrests of peaceful student protesters shuts down protests that are raising awareness about grave abuses in Israel and Palestine.
Police block pro-Palestinian protesters from returning to their encampment as the encampment is dismantled at the University of Chicago, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
By ASSOCIATED PRESS | ap@dfmdev.com
By ASSOCIATED PRESS | ap@dfmdev.com
No comments:
Post a Comment