“We, as members of Staff of the School of Politics and International Relations (IR), have supported the action of the Students of the School who occupied an auditorium on 29 January, in protest at the bombing and blockade of Gaza by the Israeli armed forces. We did so as a means of defending their right to protest and express themselves within the University. This, however, did not imply that we unconditionally supported each and every demand addressed by the students to the University. The students criticised in harsh terms a podcast of a colleague within the School of Politics and IR on the situation in Gaza. It is with regret that our stance in favour of the students’ actions (but not their demands) was interpreted as an attempt to denigrate our colleague. We hereby expressly apologise for any unforeseen consequences this has caused.

Professor Andreas Bieler

Dr Sara Motta
Dr Adam Morton
Dr Bettina Renz
Dr Liam McCarthy
Dr Tony Burns
Dr Rod Thornton
Dr Malika Rahal”

- From the occupation: We are grateful for the academics at this university for their courageous stance in supporting our right to free expression. We apologise for any misunderstanding that might have arisen, in particular, any indication that their support involved criticism of their academic colleague.

You can read Hicham’s full article “Student Apathy is Good for Business” here.

The University of Rochester, New York, in the United States of America, is currently occupied in solidarity with the people of Gaza.

Update

It’s over in under nine hours – victory! A statement from the university authorities will be forthcoming, but it looks like humanitarian aid, academic aid, scholarships and divestment have all been gained.

On Friday 6th Feb, a massive rally will take place on the University of Nottingham main campus. The rally aims at expressing solidarity with the population of Gaza and to launch an initiative entitled “Books not Bombs” that aims at getting the University of Nottingham to donate educational equipment to children and students living in Gaza.

Please join us at 2PM on Portland Hill (facing the Portland Building) and express your solidairty with the victims of the recent conflict.

For a report on Strathcylde see here.

For information about the Manchester occupation click here.

Update

Strathcylde University declare victory – the University authorities agreed to funds for scholarships, a place for the Gaza humanitarian appeal on Campus and on the University website, a press release strengthing links with the University of Gaza, disinvestment from a company that sources water from territory illegally occupied by Israel (Golan Heights) and an ongoing public discussion with the University concerning their involvement with BAE Systems and other arms companies.

Queen Mary, University of London have also declared victory, having the majority of their demands responded to by the Univeristy management.

A statement outlining our position in relation to what has happened can be read here.

For a short video comprising: clips of student protesters being forcefully removed, interviews with the students, and footage of the Police and security handling of the situation, please click here.

The Guardian Newspaper reported today (Monday 2nd Feb) on the violent eviction of the peaceful student protesters conducted by Nottingham University Authorities. The article can be read in full here. An extract:

One student involved, who asked not to be named for fear of disciplinary action, said: “The protest was very peaceful and we said there would be no disruption to lectures taking place. But officials decided to cancel all lectures without consulting anyone.”

University managers closed the building and switched off the power supply over the weekend, before forcibly evicting students on Sunday evening.

The student claimed that some protesters had been injured as they were forcibly removed.

All the occupiers agree that at this point it is important to highlight the reasons for this peaceful occupation in solidarity with the people of Gaza and recall the extent of the humanitiarian crisis there. Our intentions during the occupation were to highlight the suffering of the people in Gaza, and, since we are a University, in particular the destruction of educational opportunities there.

Please donate as much as you can either to either Disasters Emergency Commitee or Medical Aid For Palestinian. Throughout the occupation we have been collecting for these organisations and the total will be calculated shortly.

Hospitals report that over 1,350 Palestinians have been killed and over 5,550 are injured. Large numbers of civilians are reported among the dead, and the World Health Organisation estimates that at least 412 children and 95 women have been killed.
Medical Aid For Palestinians

For people living in Gaza, the fighting came on top of nineteen months of blockade which rendered many people unemployed and unable to meet the needs of their families. Now, tens of thousands of people face homelessness, their homes having been damaged or destroyed by the recent fighting.
Oxfam

After an 18 month blockade of Gaza and three weeks of heavy shelling the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is now completely overwhelming.
* Thousands of people are struggling to survive with many having lost their homes and most down to their last supplies of food and only limited amounts of fresh drinking water.
* Just £25 can buy warm blankets for 8 children
* Just £50 can provide a Food parcel for a family for one month
* Electricity – Gaza receives electricity only intermittently, although some areas remain without any power due to localised damage. There is a significant public health risk arising out of the almost collapse of Gaza’s water and sewage system, the running of which is dependent on electricity.
* Water – North Gaza and middle Area has improved. At least 70 percent of the water system in these areas is functioning, though localized damage prevents some households from receiving water. The sewage network in parts of Gaza still requires urgent repairs
* Shelter – 4000 residences were completely destroyed and another 17,000 partially destroyed
* At least 412 Children have been killed and 1,855 injured
* 60% of the population is living in poverty
* 1.1 million people are dependent upon aid to survive.
* Health – The capacity of the health system has been significantly reduced due to the damage of at least 21 clinics. Ten primary health care clinics are functioning as emergency clinics and hospitals and intensive care units continue to treat the mass casualties.
DEC

Video from last night’s forcible eviction in now online.

Although so much of our protest has been documented on video, this short clip taken on a cameraphone is almost the only footage we have of the eviction due to Security’s confiscation of our video and photo equipment during their operation.

University management watch as security drag students out of lecture theatre

We the protesters feel that the University has used disproportionate force to break and suppress a legitimate protest. If you feel the same, we urge you to make your voice heard.