Cardiff Uni students hold pro-Palestine rally outside the Main Building on Remembrance Day

Cardiff University students held a pro-Palestine rally outside of the Main Building on Remembrance Day.

The protest, arranged by Caerdydd Students for Palestine, started at 5pm on 11th November on Park Place.

Students were seen holding a banner that said: “Caerdydd students for Palestine” and waving Palestinian flags.

One of the speakers at the protest said: “I think today being Remembrance Day is quite poignant. We remember the lives of all those who died as a result of war, as a result of genocide… as a result of colonialism.

“It irks me that Cardiff University… are continuing to silence student activists who actively call for the end of genocide.”

Adding: “They have tried to silence the students who have done more for the benefit of the Cardiff community than the university ever could… We will continue to return day after day regardless of what the senior staff at this university try to do to silence us… We will not be silenced in our condemnation whether Cardiff University likes it or not.”

This follows another protest that happened in October where protestors chanted: “The people demand a free Palestine”.

Another speaker was heard saying: “I fear that I insult the intelligence of myself and everyone present here today when I even utter the word war in this speech at all, of course it’s no war, it’s a fucking genocide”.

“Lest we forget what? What are we even told to remember? I’m remembering horror and mass death and the venom in a general’s cry… I say to hell with the myth of a noble war”.

Protesters were also heard chanting: “To the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” whilst someone drummed in the background.

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In a post on Instagram, Caerdydd Students for Palestine claimed the university had “cracked down on freedom of speech and the right to protest whilst failing to deliver on their promises”.

The group added that it will not “be silent whilst [the university] is complicit in genocide”.

Cardiff University has outlined a response to students’ activism. In it, it notes that “student activism plays an important role in a democratic society.”

It continues by saying, talking about the pro-Palestine encampments last semester: “There were many staff and students who supported the encampment. There were others who found the camp – and particularly some of the behaviour demonstrated within it and on campus – distressing or threatening. The University needed to balance the right to protest, freedom of speech, the health and safety of the protestors, and the right of all staff and students to feel safe, and that they belong, at Cardiff.”

However, whilst the university “entered into dialogue with the encampment, facilitated by the Students’ Union, which resulted in its voluntary disbandment in July”, it wants to clarify that it is “no longer in dialogue with the group, following a series of incidents, both at protests and online, where behaviour towards members of our community, particularly our frontline staff, has not been acceptable.”

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A post shared by Caerdydd Students For Palestine (@caerdyddstudents4palestine)

This comes as the Student Federation for a Liberated Palestine posted a call to action to its Instagram page, saying it wanted to make sure “the victims of the zionist state are not forgotten.

A spokesperson for Cardiff University said: “It would be inappropriate to comment on an individual or on-going case involving student behaviour.

“However, the University rejects the claim that we are attempting to ‘silence’ students. The University supports the right to lawful protest, but actions that disrupt aspects of staff or student life are not acceptable. They are investigated under our Dignity at Work and Study policy and, if necessary, action is taken.

“In terms of the claim that the University has “failed to deliver on their promises” again, we reject this claim.

“The University’s Chief Operating Officer wrote an article setting out the actions the University’s taken. It can be found here.”