INSAF uOttawa declared their demands on Tabaret Lawn
On Nov. 2, hundreds of U of O students took part in a walk-out in solidarity with Palestine. Organized by Integrity Not Spite Against Palestine (INSAF) uOttawa, the walk-out saw a large crowd gather outside the Jock-Turcot University Centre and listen to speakers before heading to Tabaret Lawn to speak their demands.
“As we know, there’s been an aggression on the Gaza Strip for the past nearly 27 days now,” said Aisha Ahmed, an executive member of INSAF and third-year biomedicine student.
“We’re out here to call attention to the genocide; to honour our martyrs — we have over 9000 martryrs as of this morning, and as well to call attention to the university and encourage them to divest from institutions and corporations they may [be] investing in that aid the Palestinian genocide.”
The group has made three demands of the university, which are also outlined in their petition: (1) that the university’s pension fund fully divest from corporations that are associated with Israeli occupation; (2) that the university ends its relationships with “academic Israeli institutions”, such as an exchange program with Tel Aviv University; and (3) that the university president, Jacques Fremont, revise his statement made on Oct. 10 to stand on the “side of the oppressed in our fight against our oppressors”.
Ahmed emphasized how critical the current situation in Gaza and the West Bank is, and urged students to look to Palestinian voices rather than mainstream media for accurate information. “We are seeing clear, blatant human rights violations and we’re seeing an occupation,” she said in an interview with the Fulcrum.
In addition to marching to Tabaret Lawn, there were several speakers from the university community, declaring their solidarity with Palestine and denouncing the ongoing genocide. One such speaker was Nina Charley, a conflict studies student and co-chair of the Ottawa Black Diaspora Coalition.
“For the struggle towards justice and liberation is a shared narrative between Black, Indigenous, and Palestinian communities. I refuse to accept the language that our acts of resistance against colonial violence are barbaric,” said Charley.
“I am here as a human pleading to another, why has humanity turned a blind eye to constant suffering and bloodshed? We demand a ceasefire now and to end the siege on Gaza immediately.”
