Wednesday, november 27, the encampment on the bridge was cleared. Photo Resource The pro-Palestine camp on the bridge between Forum and Orion has gone, 196 days after it was set up. After the Executive Board had spent ages deliberating, last week it found a reason in Storm Conall to clear the camp. Citing safety reasons, the Board arranged for the tents to be taken down.
That brought an end to an occupation that started on Wednesday 15 May. It was clear the protesters had lost their enthusiasm some time ago. After a burst of activity at the start, the encampment has largely been unoccupied at night since the summer. Other protest events have also seen fewer and fewer demonstrators turning up.
It is no secret that the Executive Board had been looking for a way of ending the camp protest for a while. In early July, the Board called on the activists to leave the bridge after it had confirmed WUR would definitely not be cutting links with Israeli scientific institutions. That meant the activists’ most important demand was unattainable. But despite this call to stop the protest, WUR continued to tolerate the camp.
It is striking the Board only intervened some 100 days later. After the summer, the camp started getting grubbier and dirtier. Extra security staff were needed on campus and that was costing a lot of money. In addition, a few activists were living permanently on the bridge (which is illegal). So tolerating the encampment was clearly not a long-term solution.
The use of Storm Conall as an excuse to clear the bridge smacks of opportunism. The camp had previously survived bad weather, cold snaps and a storm. When the clearance started, the storm had passed its peak and the campus was virtually empty. If safety had been the only concern, there were other measures that could have been taken.
The occupation of the bridge has ended with losers on all sides. The activists got a lot of attention, but not what they were demanding. And the Executive Board’s hesitant approach is far from impressive. Meanwhile, the conflict about what course WUR should be taking in its contacts with Israel continues. One thing is clear: the Executive Board will not be tolerating any more occupations.
In the Comment column, the editorial board presents standpoints and analyses formulated in discussion with the editors.
