On Sept. 16, a peaceful protest was disrupted by Calgary police, who arrested three participants. The following report was submitted by a comrade who was at the protest. It is accompanied by a protester’s first-hand account of being harassed by the police.
The incident just further demonstrates the state’s determination to baselessly attack the Palestine solidarity movement. This is why an important demand of the Student Strike for Palestine is to end the repression of the movement. We must unite to fight back against attempts to silence us.
On Saturday, at a peaceful rally for Palestine held in Tomkins Park, Calgary police officers arrested three people, including lead organizer Wesam Khaled, charged with obstruction and “assaulting” a police officer.
To those who bore witness, it was very clear that no assault had taken place, and it was the officers who aggressively inserted themselves in the demonstration who caused the disturbance. This is the same police force that claimed nobody was injured when they violently crushed the peaceful encampment at the University of Calgary, sending some students to ambulances after deploying flash grenades and tear gas.
Police had also handed out 12 tickets to demonstrators with fines of $3,000. In one case, police targeted a small organization, Hearts for Palestine, that collects charity for Gaza. An innocent display of paper-craft hearts on strings was, according to police, obstructing traffic. The display was not on a road, or even the sidewalk, and obstructed nothing!
Police deliberately harassed and targeted individuals separated from the crowd in a display of petulant cowardice. One passive demonstrator and his teenage son were stopped on their walk home halfway through the march and called “ignorant” by an officer!
The police deployed all sorts of expensive surveillance equipment, vans, and even graced us with the presence of their mounted goons, all of whom stood idle, gently stroking their horses’ manes or glaring through camera lenses.
Their peak response amounted to roughly 60 officers to control a crowd of about 115 people (according to their official count). Do they fear the masses that much? Indeed! Why else would such a disproportionate and inappropriate response be warranted?! Why else would they cower on the other side of the street by their police vans as they escort people away in handcuffs?
The police in Calgary seem to have so much money, so many resources, that they can’t help but desperately search for reasons to justify their very expensive presence. The protest was met with honks of support and people waving Palestinian flags from their apartment balconies! Yet no amount of public support can subdue their insatiable urge to arrest and ticket innocent people, to ensure that the absurd expenses incurred by pointless surveillance could be paid for through ticketing peaceful protestors.
We demand that these ridiculous fines be annulled and the charges dropped against Wesam and his comrades!
Report from a protester accosted by police
So this afternoon I had lunch with my 16 year-old on 17th Ave. We saw an old friend of mine, Andrea Wilson, as she does, spearheading a protest for a ceasefire in Gaza.
My kid and I have talked on this subject before, and we agreed we’d join the march, it was literally right where we were and going right where we were going, and we both agree with the protest, so we joined.
There was a large police presence. The protest was friendly, passing traffic honked in support, and no barricades were broken.
As the two of us left the march to head home, an officer asked me why we were walking with the group. I didn’t understand the question, he asked me again why we were walking in the street, I said still fairly confused, because we agreed with the message. He then asked me if I thought it was “more important than ALL the people we were putting out, because they couldn’t get where they were going.”
It was extremely jarring, I honestly was so taken aback by it, that it sorta paralyzed me, and thankfully I really didn’t respond. He then called me ignorant and something else.
We left, and a few moments later when I kinda came back to reality, I was fairly upset. Not only did he decide to berate me and my kid, but called US ignorant, and basically said that the convenience of a few fortunate people’s Sunday afternoon drives or errands is more important than recognizing and protesting against genocide!
I’m pretty sure as an officer his stance on the matter should be one of neutrality. Not only was the experience a lesson that these types of people exist, but some of them are police officers, it’s disgusting and shameful.
-Chad
Minor edits have been made to the reports for the sake of clarity.
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