QUB Palestine Assembly Stage Sit-in at the Lanyon Building

By Luella Coley

On Thursday 10th October, the QUB Palestine Assembly occupied the Lanyon Building, in an act of defiance towards QUB management, and in coordination with others as a national day of protest – the Nationwide Workplace and University Day of Action [1].

The QUB Palestine Assembly, formed in 2023 following the events of October 7th and are fighting for recognition as a society, by the Queen’s Students Union. It is a self-proclaimed, ‘Palestinian solidarity movement involving QUB staff, students and alumni’ and today’s action is preceded by numerous rallies and demonstrations since their inception, which seek to gain acknowledgement, and most importantly action, on their demands. The Assembly demand the removal of conflicts of interest from places of influence within the university, the implementation of full BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) guidelines, and the decolonisation of teaching within the university; fully committing to anti-racism within the curriculum.

I had the opportunity to speak to Tamanna Tai and Esther Kabwika – Activists and Media Liaisons for the QUB Palestine Assembly – who spoke on: the impact of youth engagement, the role of universities (notably Queen’s University Belfast) in adhering to BDS guidelines, and why the conflict is more concerned with economics than religion.

The activists stated that the conflict did not start last October, but 107 years ago. Palestinians are facing not only genocide – but, starvation, a lack of access to clean water, and restrictions on education and religious freedom.

The pair opined how Queen’s University, as an institution, are complicit in genocide happening to Palestinians, due to their reluctance towards divesting in all companies that are supporting the Israeli state. The University’s statement from May 9th 2024, reflects on the previous year’s Students’ Union referendum which led to “an agreement between the University and the Students’ Union to update the University’s Responsible Investment Policy to limit and continually review its direct investment in weapons manufacturing” [2]. Despite this agreement, it is felt that the demands have not been met.

“I don’t understand why universities aren’t condemning colonialism.” – Tamanna Tai

A notable concern for the assembly is also the dichotomy between the university, and government’s responses to conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Palestine respectively – “It’s a huge hypocrisy that they can support Ukraine but not Palestine.” On an even deeper level, it’s certainly a point of discussion, made clear to me by Tamanna, that Queen’s own Mandela Hall is named in commemoration of Nelson Mandela’s anti-apartheid activism in South Africa, but they appear reluctant to acknowledge the conflict in Gaza as apartheid.

“Getting them, not only to listen, but to also take what we are saying on board, and to truly commit themselves to the demands we have, would be a great start, not just for the liberation of Palestine, but the liberation for all occupied territories.” – Esther Kabwika

The activists also discussed how and why the conflict is more concerned with economics than religion, and alluded to why this makes it so important to demand complete divestment and condemnation from universities. We spoke about how it has been painted as a religious war and not an issue of fundamental human rights, which is suggested to be a tactic to mask Western investment in Israeli expansionism. The activists questioned whether the university would be hesitant to cut ties if the severity of the crisis was reported accurately by UK mass media.

The QUB Palestine Assembly have made their stances clear, and show no signs of giving up. So, while Queen’s do not meet their demands, the activists proclaim to maintain their support for all oppressed people – “their struggles may be different, but they have one common enemy, in our belief; colonisers”.

Sources:

[1] @qubpalestineassembly, “‘QUB Lanyon Building Is Currently Being Occupied,’” Instagram, October 10, 2024, https://www.instagram.com/p/DA8WpeiIQqm/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link.

[2] Queen’s University Belfast, “Queen’s Statement on the Middle East Conflict,” Qub.ac.uk, January 9, 2024, https://www.qub.ac.uk/News/Allnews/2024/middle-east-conflict-statement.html.