The University of Victoria in British Columbia says it has begun the process of removing the pro-Palestinian encampment on campus, telling protesters they are trespassing on school property.
The school says in its latest encampment update that it has sa国际传媒渢aken a calm, measured and reasoned approachsa国际传媒� to the protest since it was set up on May 1, but administrators sa国际传媒渟ee no further prospect for a successful dialogue.sa国际传媒�
On its social media page, protesters naming themselves sa国际传媒淧eoplesa国际传媒檚 Park UVICsa国际传媒� confirm the school has issued them a trespass notice, adding the administration has told them to sa国际传媒渧acate by 8 a.m. Monday.sa国际传媒�
The group did not specify their plans while asking the public to sa国际传媒渟tay tuned for updates from camp and plans going forward.sa国际传媒�
Protesters at the university have been demanding the school cut financial and academic ties with Israeli entities due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, and the latest development comes about a week after Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, B.C. launched legal action against protesters there for allegedly ignoring a deadline to leave their camp.
Vancouver Island University says it had issued its trespass notice to protesters on July 11.
University of Victoria says in its update that the school had been working toward sa国际传媒渁 peaceful conclusion of the encampmentsa国际传媒� since June through facilitated discussions with protesters.
sa国际传媒淯nfortunately, we have not successfully achieved agreement on the process and timeline for decampment,sa国际传媒� the school update says.sa国际传媒痵a国际传媒漈he university was disappointed to learn of this impasse through social media posts from Peoplesa国际传媒檚 Park UVic.sa国际传媒�
The protest group says on its social media page that protesters sa国际传媒渉ave negotiated in good faithsa国际传媒� but described the schoolsa国际传媒檚 last proposed resolution as having sa国际传媒渘o concrete commitmentssa国际传媒� and containing sa国际传媒渋neffective policysa国际传媒� that fails to address what they are calling a genocide in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The group also reposted a statement from July 19, saying it is sa国际传媒渦nfortunately no surprise to once again witness our administration betraying the integrity of this process and emphasizing that these negotiations have been and always will be on their terms.sa国际传媒�
A camp at the University of British Columbia was vacated by protesters voluntarily on July 7.
The recent developments come after an Ontario court granted the University of Toronto an injunction on July 2 that ordered protesters there to dismantle their encampment on the grounds that it is a violation of the schoolsa国际传媒檚 property rights.
Legal experts have said the decision sets a powerful precedent and creates a road map for other schools to follow in seeking legal recourse in removing protest encampments on campus.
READ ALSO:
READ ALSO:
The Canadian Press
