Students have the right to protest: UJ must not silence the students’ voices!
Politics Lecturer Dr. Ahmed Veriava getting arrested PIC: Twitter.com
The Right2Know Campaign strongly condemns the action by the University of Johannesburg’s management and the SAPS’s conduct in dealing with the protesting students and workers.
About 138 students and 13 workers were arrested during a #FeesMustFall protest and are currently held at Brixton Police Station. According to the students, the University called in private security that has been very violent when dealing with the protesting students and workers. Further reports states that police who were called in used excessive force against protesters.
We believe five students including the SRC president were suspended for allegedly inciting violence during protests at the institution, an accusation they strongly deny. The University claims that the workers were arrested for being in violation of a court interdict.
The court interdicts which have been brought into play on campuses across the country are hugely problematic and have restricted students’ and workers’ rights to engage in protests, including those which are non-violent but disruptive of normal campus activities.
We demand the release of the arrested protesters, we also call on the University to reinstate with immediate effect the suspended students.
We call on UJ to not silence the students’ voices and respect their right to protest! The right to organise, protest and speak out is central to all community struggles for social justice!
