{"id":5409,"date":"2025-02-12T00:00:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-12T00:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/?p=5409"},"modified":"2025-03-14T22:26:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T22:26:06","slug":"after-the-ceasefire-they-thought-wed-be-quiet-but-we-got-louder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/news\/2025\/02\/12\/after-the-ceasefire-they-thought-wed-be-quiet-but-we-got-louder\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cAfter the ceasefire they thought we\u2019d be quiet, but we got louder\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

CW: Contains quotations with strong racist language.<\/i>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Policing at pro-Palestine protests in Aberdeen appears to have increased, as activists employ new tactics to pressure the boycott targets of Barclays Bank<\/em> and Marks & Spencer (M&S)<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gaudie<\/span><\/i> is aware of two incidents of Police Scotland arresting pro-Palestine protesters in the past 3 months.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the University of Aberdeen rejected requests to divest from the arms industry or from companies operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The University has also announced scholarships for Gazans and is preparing for a citizen\u2019s assembly discussing \u201cHow Can the University Respond to International Conflict?\u201d on February 14th. <\/span><\/p>\n

In January, a Palestinian resident of Aberdeen was arrested after a scuffle with a man who acted aggressively towards protesters. According to eyewitness Ayah, the Palestine Solidarity Society (PSS) President, the annoyed man appeared to be the father of a teenage busker who frequently sings near the protest site. The activists had met for a weekly demonstration outside Barclays Bank, who have targeted for funding the military and other fossil fuel industries. Seemingly agitated by the proximity of protesters, the man allegedly pushed a protester – a Muslim woman \u2013 and allegedly shouted to \u201cget away from my speaker.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Upon hearing the commotion, protester Baha\u2019a, a Palestinian man and long-term resident of Aberdeen, pushed the man away from the woman – an account which he confirmed to <\/span>The Gaudie<\/span><\/i>. He was then targeted with racist slurs; the aggressor allegedly used the words \u201cterrorist\u201d and \u201cchocolate\u201d to attack Baha\u2019a. T<\/span>his prompted Baha\u2019a to again push away the aggressor, he told us. The police approached Baha\u2019a at the protest and took down his details. Later the same day, he was arrested at his home.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After the PSS issued a social media callout pleading for \u201ccomrades\u201d to gather outside Kittybrewster Police Station, Baha\u2019a was released. Later, the woman who had been pushed told police that Baha\u2019a had been protecting her from assault. She was later told that police had arrested the alleged perpetrator, and he was \u201ccharged with assault and racist abuse.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Baha\u2019a told us he was scared, having lived in Aberdeen 20 years and \u201cnever so much as getting a parking ticket,\u201d and felt he was harshly treated by police.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked whether she noticed changes to Police Scotland\u2019s approach towards policing of demonstrations, PSS President Ayah reported escalations of policing in recent months:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“We cannot be ourselves, they\u2019re policing us very hard…[…] After the ceasefire they thought we\u2019d be quiet, but we got louder.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Another protester was arrested after a Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) action inside Bon Accord Marks & Spencer<\/em> in December. At least four individuals held up banners urging customers to boycott the brand, since M&S<\/em> sells Israeli goods. Some also collected Israeli-origin goods in a trolley and labelled the goods with stickers. <\/span>One arrested activist spoke to The Gaudie<\/em> under anonymity to share their experiences.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When attempting to stop the group\u2019s efforts to communicate that \u201cgenocide doesn\u2019t stop at Christmas,\u201d M&S<\/em> staff and customers responded \u201caggressively,\u201d adding that a staff member \u201cquite viciously pushed and manhandled the protesters.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

They continued: \u201cThe manager tried to grab the girl recording photos and videos.” Allegedly, the manager pressured protesters to delete videos and photos before leaving the store. The police were called due to this incident. Upon their arrival, a police person allegedly promised that if they leave immediately, they will not face further issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the protesters had already decided to leave the inside of the M&S<\/em> store, the police tried to make a display of us leaving.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The activist then attempted to walk away before being arrested and put in handcuffs, with some bystanders clapping.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA woman tried to put in a complaint because of the assault by the member M&S<\/em> staff, but the police officer refused to let her put in a complaint.” <\/span><\/p>\n

Police Scotland declined to comment, telling <\/span>The Gaudie<\/span><\/i> they don\u2019t communicate with student publications. Marks & Spencer<\/em> and Bon Accord<\/em> did not respond for comment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the University\u2019s web page on international conflict, requests to divest University funds from arms companies and companies operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories have been rejected, citing \u201cpooled funds\u201d as an obstacle preventing divestment. <\/span><\/p>\n

The University of Aberdeen has also put up scholarships and fellowships for displaced students, including the Undergraduate At-Risk Scholarship and At-Risk Postgraduate Fellowships, which offer financial support for tuition, accommodation, and living costs. These schemes aim to assist students fleeing conflict, with eligibility for those seeking sanctuary in the UK.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The citizen\u2019s assembly \u201cHow Can the University Respond to International Conflict?\u201d was a key promise to the student encampment before they vacated Elphinstone Lawn to make space for summer graduations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

PSS encouraged its supporters to sign up, while others have expressed concern that the vague wording of the assembly sets it up to exclude discussions on Palestine or genocide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an \u2018unlisted\u2019 YouTube video accessible through the webpage, the University\u2019s Deputy Director of People Nick Edwards said the assembly aimed \u201cto come to a shared ground to shape future approaches under a common goal.\u201d Vice Principal Jo-Anne Murray added that 80 participants will have been chosen to \u201cget as wide representation as possible.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally scheduled for 2024, the University postponed the event by several months. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CW: Contains quotations with strong racist language.\u00a0 Policing at pro-Palestine protests in Aberdeen appears to have increased, as activists employ new tactics to pressure the boycott targets of Barclays Bank and Marks & Spencer (M&S).\u00a0 The Gaudie is aware of two incidents of Police Scotland arresting pro-Palestine protesters in the past 3 months.\u00a0\u00a0 Meanwhile, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":5410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","iawp_total_views":14,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[254,1154,348,1153,558,349,1152,396],"wf_post_folders":[181],"class_list":["post-5409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-aberdeen","tag-barclays","tag-gaza","tag-international-conflict","tag-israel","tag-palestine","tag-police","tag-protest"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Fred Byrne","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/author\/marketing\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Pic2-268x300.jpeg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["News<\/a>"],"unlinked":["News<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Aberdeen<\/a>","Barclays<\/a>","Gaza<\/a>","international conflict<\/a>","Israel<\/a>","Palestine<\/a>","police<\/a>","protest<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Aberdeen<\/span>","Barclays<\/span>","Gaza<\/span>","international conflict<\/span>","Israel<\/span>","Palestine<\/span>","police<\/span>","protest<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 12 February 2025","modified":"Updated on 14 March 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 12 February 2025 00:00","modified":"Updated on 14 March 2025 22:26"},"featured_img_caption":"Photo credit to Ayah, PSS\n","series_order":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5409"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5411,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5409\/revisions\/5411"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5409"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=5409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}