At 6am this morning, UCD Estates and Gardaí partially evicted the ongoing solidarity encampment in support of Palestine, pitched for more than 2 weeks now at the N11 entrance to the university.
The camp, which demands that UCD cut ties with Israel and exclude it from the Horizon Europe programme, was recently extended into the adjacent forest area. Following this, a dispute arose between protestors and UCD Estates on the legal status of the extension of the camp.
In a video seen by the University Observer, Gardaí are heard to be telling a member of the encampment that the forest area is university property, rather than public property, and forcibly moving tents and equipment with the help of UCD Estates. This comes after a warning from UCD Estates yesterday that the part of the camp located in the forest will be moved due to it being university property. In the video, the protester demands to see documentation, and accuses the authorities of lying, asserting that the area under dispute is public property.
The Gardaí are allowed to instruct protestors off public property if public order is threatened, by invoking Section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994, a broad and vague piece of legislation. However, according to the video, the eviction was justified on the grounds that the extended camp is university property. According to a planning application seen by University Observer, the forest adjacent to the N11 entrance is mostly public property, with the extension of the camp seemingly falling on the public side of the dividing line.
Sami Kupiszewski, the instigator of the encampment and the activist involved in the confrontation this morning, commented that “their behaviour shows their helplessness. UCD management are putting us under huge pressure. It has adopted a silencing policy that now includes illegal attempts to remove both Irish and Palestinian flags. UCD refuses to allow Palestinian flags inside the campus which is like a business centre, or outside the campus, where they expelled us on Monday 7th September. Rather than engaging with the encampment’s demands, they are trying to dismantle the camp, driven by fear of the truth.”
Barry Murray, member of the Peadar O’Connell Socialist Republican Forum, and participant of the encampment protest, added that “it is clear to all now that UCD have a lot to hide, when they staged an early morning attack on the peaceful protest encampment against their links to the zionist Technion Institute. They also got their 'friendly Gardaí' to stand guard while the scivvy and scab workers wrecked the banners and tents there. Shame on them.”
UCD has been contacted for a comment.