Fossil fuel occupiers in John Owens building threaten hunger strike

The protestors who have been occupying the John Owens building at the University of Manchester have released a statement indicating that four of them are preparing to go on hunger strike.

This comes after the university refused to meet with the protestors from People and Planet Uom unless they bring the occupation to an end.

People and planets full statement reads:

"A few hours before our meeting with University management, a representative from the University came to inform us that our scheduled meeting was 'contingent upon us leaving the occupation'.

"This was never made clear to us. The phrasing of the letter implied that the meeting would occur whether or not we were still in occupation. We have stayed here all weekend believing we would meet on Monday. We feel betrayed, used, and deeply angered by this development.

"Our trust in the University, which was tenuous to begin with, has now deteriorated even further. This trust can only be rebuilt if the meeting goes ahead as planned: a meeting during which a commitment to full divestment is achievable.

"We would like to engage with the University, but meaningful engagement must happen on both sides. We need the University to engage with us as we have been engaging with them, including a genuine attempt to meet our demands. This has been sorely lacking thus far.

"We urge @OfficialUoM to reconsider their conditions for a meeting. Four of us have been preparing to go on hunger strike. If this meeting doesn't happen + does not contain a commitment to full divestment, we will start at midnight tonight, in addition to other escalation."

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