UBC students call for public inquiry to investigate RCMP response
By Charlie Smith
Publish Date: April 6, 2008
Update: For more video footage of the events discussed in this story, see user’s comments posted in response to, Students allege RCMP brutality at UBC.
A UBC Alma Mater Society executive has joined others in criticizing the behaviour of RCMP officers in shutting down a protest near the UBC bus loop late Friday night. In the past, some UBC higher-ups have been known to refer to the UBC bus loop as "Little Budapest", which is a snide attack on the appearance of all those buses at the centre of the campus. Students, however, object to an underground bus loop, which could end up resembling something like Lonsdale Quay. Here's the latest news release, which calls for a public inquiry:
TO ALL NEWS EDITORS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UBC STUDENTS DEMAND PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO MASS ARRESTS AT PEACEFUL PROTEST
VANCOUVER, April 5th, 2008- Outraged UBC students are calling for a
public inquiry into the behaviour of the RCMP and UBC Campus Security
that resulted in mass arrests at a musical concert against commercial
development at UBC.
According to AMS Students Society of UBC VP-Admin Tristan Markle
"The event, KnollAid 2.0, was an awareness-raising musical concert
against the planned construction of an underground bus loop and the
commercialization of the centre of campus. Since the outset, students
have been outraged at the lack of meaningful consultation and
undemocratic actions of the administration in this development. The
focus of this concert was the grassy knoll- a centre of social life at
UBC- that is slated for destruction by the UBC administration."
According to UBC Students for Democratic Society member and eye witness to the arrests Steven Klein
"As the event wound down, Campus Security, the RCMP, and Fire
Department arrived and successfully put out a bonfire that had been
created by some participants. Campus Security and the RCMP arrested two
individuals for allegedly interfering with the firefighters.
Students peacefully protested what they believed to be wrongful arrests
and convinced the police to release one student, although the second
student remained detained."
"Over the course of the next two hours, well after the original situation
with the bonfire was under control, over 18 police vehicles and 30
police officers- including from VPD, Richmond RCMP, and Transit Police-
arrived.
These reinforcements verbally threatened to
use police dogs and tasers on the peaceful protestors. They also
indiscriminately arrested many bystanders, including an individual who
stumbled upon the scene while biking home. One individual was
handcuffed and detained immediately after giving an interview with CBC
news. All of us observers were shocked at the confrontational attitude
and brutal tactics of the police," further states Klein.
According to UBC student Margart Orlowski "We are deeply disturbed that
the RCMP is distorting the timeline of events and lying in order to
cover up their behaviour. RCMP spokespeople are falsely claiming that
police backup was called because they were unable to put out the
bonfire, that the situation was dangerous and violent, and that the
RCMP issued multiple verbal warnings. In fact, the additional RCMP
detachments were called well after the bonfire was under control and
they only issued one verbal warning before indiscriminately arresting
students, including many uninvolved bystanders.
Only a public inquiry can establish why the
RCMP is distorting these events. We are also demanding that the UBC
administration initiate an internal inquiry into the behaviour of
Campus Security, who were witnessed using force while assisting in the
arrest of at least two
students."
VIDEOS:
Detailed Chronology:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Expanded/Condensed Version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
Prior to arrests:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
The arrests:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
ARTICLES FROM The Ubyssey CAMPUS NEWSPAPER CONCERNING "POLICE CRACK-DOWN" PRIOR TO ARRESTS:
http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=2955 this was an editorial
http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=2951 letter to the Ubyssey
ARTICLES ABOUT ARRESTS:
http://www.straight.com
http://www.straight.com
http://www.ctvbc.ca/servlet/an
http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=2968
http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=2989
Nineteen people are facing charges including assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest following a demonstration at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver late Friday.
A large crowd of UBC students had gathered outside the Student Union Building to demonstrate against the redevelopment of a grassy knoll at the location. A bonfire was lit as the protest neared its end.
Vancouver police and RCMP officers arrested several students when they staged an impromptu rally at UBC.
(CBC)
Police said they were called by campus security and arrested 19 people.
RCMP Const. Annie Linteau said the group swarmed a police car and became combative when officials tried to put out the fire.
Protest organizer Bahram Norouzi told CBC News that a student stood in front of the hose to block the water and was then taken away.
Some students were dragged away by police officers at the UBC demonstration Friday night.
(CBC)
Other students became angry and thought it was an unfair arrest, he said, so they proceeded to march around the police cruiser in which the student had been detained.
More officers, including the RCMP's UBC detachment and Vancouver police, arrived and more students were arrested, Norouzi said.
Some students were dragged on the ground after being handcuffed.
Norouzi said the students were peaceful and were only "singing and dancing around the [police] car."
The police "made this situation so intense for us and they brought the violence themselves," he said.
Students have been fighting for the last six months to keep the grassy knoll outside the Student Union Building, Norouzi added.
With files from the Canadian Presshttp://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/04/05/bc-ubc-student-arrests.html
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