BY AHMAD NIMER
TORONTO — In a significant victory for the right to organise on Canadian campuses, protests by Palestinian solidarity activists forced the University of Toronto (UT) administration to allow a planned conference to go ahead. The conference will now take place on November 29-30.
On November 21, the UT administration rang organisers less than 24 hours before the conference was to begin and informed them that it could not go ahead unless the political basis for participation was dropped.
Although the UT administration refused to put the reasons for cancellation in writing at that time, they told organisers that the conference excluded Zionists because of its clear anti-Zionist position and support for Palestinian refugees' right to return to their homeland.
The administration admitted that no students had complained about the conference, but that an off-campus Zionist organisation, B'nai Brith, had.
The conference had been organised for Palestinian activists to discuss Palestinian solidarity and campaign work in a safe and non-threatening environment. Talks were to address issues such as the right of return, the viability of a so-called two-state solution, the nature of Israel's apartheid, the role of women in the Palestinian liberation struggle and other issues in the Middle East and Canada. One full day was to be devoted to discussing a plan of action for campaign work among different solidarity groups in Toronto.
The UT's attack on freedom of assembly follows an increasing clamp-down against Palestinian solidarity work on Canadian campuses. At the same time, pro-Zionist forces have received overt support for their activities from university administrations.
At York University, also in Toronto, the Young Zionist Partnership student group organised a "celebration day" for the Israeli army in September, at which students were asked to wear Israeli army uniforms. While the event was allowed to go ahead, students who protested were punished by the administration. In contrast, Palestinian solidarity groups at York University have been prevented from booking rooms and charged thousands of dollars in "security fees" for outside speakers.
From Green Left Weekly, December 3, 2003.
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