This week, Palestine solidarity activists in Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) succesfully disrupted a recruitment fair for arms companies on campus.
Companies complicit in the Palestinian genocide were again denied the opportunity to recruit on campus. As the protest began, activists were approached by university staff and asked what companies they were targeting. These companies were then instructed to leave the event.
The companies were:
- Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of RTX (formerly Raytheon)
- Martin Baker, which manufacturers ejection seats for F-35 Fighter jets
- Seagate, which has a subsidiary in Tel Aviv
- Kyocera AVX Components, which has a subsidiary in Jerusalem
- Coca-Cola, a target of the BDS Movement which operates in Israeli settlements
This week’s action built on succesful direct action that happened before Christmas.
In December, Collins Aerospace, Spirit Aerosystems and Thales were forced to abandon their stalls a recruitment fair after activists from the CYM Belfast branch, QUB Palestine Assembly and BDS Belfast surrounded them with flags and distributed leaflets informing students of these companies’ complicity in genocide, war and imperialism.
One activist described this week’s action as a “total victory” for the protest that the targeted companies were put out by the university staff. This comes just weeks after The Times reported a growing trend of weapons manufacturers being “effectively excluded” from university campuses in Britain, due to student protests and campaigns.
The activists involved in the ongoing campaign for QUB to fully divest from Israel have made it clear that they will continue in this fight until all ties to Zionism, war mongers and weapons manufacturers are severed. As one CYM activist summarised, “whenever they come, we’ll be there.”
Queen’s has been a consistent target of the local Palestine solidarity movement due to the institutions’ direct complicity in genocide, and its relationship with yankee warmongers such as Hilary Clinton (the unelected Vice Chancellor of the university).
In recent months, there has been a renewed focus on the university following the violent repression of activists on campus by the PSNI. In November, four activists were arrested during a protest against the presence of Hilary Clinton and representatives of Lockheed Martin on campus. Three of those are facing charges – including two CYM members.
The QUB 3 will be back in court on 1 May. For more information on how to support the campaign to have their charges dropped, email [email protected]