In the U.S. city of Los Angeles, police have clashed with a large group of anti-war protesters who marched across the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus while carrying fake bloodied corpses and reading aloud the names of Palestinians who have been killed in Israeli war on Gaza.
The protesters formed an anti-war camp on UCLA’s campus on Monday, as part of an event organized by the Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA. Police ordered them to disperse at least twice, prompting the demonstrators to quickly dismantle tents and move to different locations on campus.
While marching, one of the protesters read aloud the names of Palestinians killed, with the fellow demonstrators chanting “They will not die in vain” and “They will be redeemed” after each name.
After a few hours, police clashed with the protesters, declaring the gathering to be an unlawful assembly. At least 20 students were reported detained by police.
Associate professor Graeme Blair, who is a member of Faculty for Justice in Palestine, said one student was wounded by a rubber bullet fired when students were barricaded near the Dodd Hall courtyard. He slammed authorities, noting that the students had been following dispersal orders throughout the evening.
UCLA professor Yogita Goyal said police should not have declared an unlawful assembly when students were protesting peacefully. “UCLA leadership should be out here and should be allowing our students to express their political views,” Goyal, who was among faculty on campus expressing support for the protesters.
The UCLA campus has so far witnessed third protests in recent weeks, the handling of which has drawn outrage.
Thousands of academic workers at the University of California were on a strike over police and university crackdowns on peaceful protesters on six UC campuses last month that they said violated free speech rights of its members.
On Monday, United Auto Workers Local 4811, which represents 48,000 graduate students working as teaching assistants, researchers, tutors and other academic employees, ended their strike, which started on May 20th, and returned to work following a court order from a state judge.
An Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday granted a temporary restraining order sought by the university asserting that the walkout was in violation of a no-strike clause in the union’s contract as it stemmed from non-labor issues. United Auto Workers Local 4811, however, said it is planning protests on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Protests were held recently on many campuses in the United States, demanding an end to the Washington-backed Israeli war on Gaza, which has killed more than 37,124 Palestinians, and injured 84,712 others. The demonstrators were met with brutal police violence.
