The term “siege” might seem an exaggeration to some, but in reality, the scene yesterday was more like a war zone. Two days before, the police officers stood by and watched the Zionist gangs’ attacks on defenseless students in their solidarity camp with Palestine at the University of California, the students were exhausted by this aggression where many of them were injured. Within 24 hours of the attack, the Police forces gathered in huge numbers and surrounded the camp from all sides.
The police attacks began around 1 a.m. last night, and between the scene of the siege on the ground, approximately 3 helicopters in the air, and snipers on the roofs, the riot police began firing a large number of sound bombs and tear gas at the demonstrators, and then the riot police stormed in from the western side of the camp, and rubber bullets were fired with great intensity.
Some were injured and others were arrested, but a small steadfast group of students remained holding their grounds, chanting with their exhausted voices for Palestine and Gaza.
After the police forces succeeded in storming the place and destroying and breaking the tents and barriers that the demonstrators had put up to protect themselves, the officer called Christian Acosta – this despicable and shameless person – came in, with a malicious smile on his face that contained a feeling of euphoria as if he had achieved a victory that he had dreamt of. He removed the Palestinian flag from its place in the middle of the camp and threw it on the ground, in another attempt by this crisis state and its repressive tools to find a solution to the student and popular movement extending between more than 120 universities and educational institutions from the east to the west of the country.
There is no doubt that the repression to which the students were subjected to in the last two days has only increased their determination to carry out their movement, and this repression is nothing but evidence that their student movement is effective and influential, and therefore we must all, as Palestinians, Arabs and the free people around the world, support these students in their legitimate humanitarian and moral demands and defend as well their right to peaceful demonstration and freedom of speech.