Police dismantle Occupy Edmonton camp

People clean up the Occupy Edmonton site in downtown Edmonton after police dismantled the camp earlier in the morning on November, 25 2011.

EDMONTON - Occupy Edmonton protesters met Friday night to discuss what they will do next after their downtown camp was dismantled overnight by police.

Spokespeople could not be reached for comment after the meeting, but one Occupy protester, Mahad Mohammad, said there are differing views about the next move.

Mohammad said some believe the protest should move inside or take another form, while others think the camp should now be set up in another outdoor location.

The camp at Jasper Avenue and 102nd Street was dismantled after police moved into the area at around 4 a.m. Friday to clear out the park. Nine protesters were sleeping at the camp when police arrived.

A large pile of debris was left behind Friday morning in the now fenced-in lot, and protesters were later allowed to re-enter the camp to collect belongings and clean up the site.

Last weekend, Melcor, the company that owns the land, gave Occupy Edmonton protesters a deadline to formulate a plan to leave the property, warning that unless they did the firm would file a complaint with the city and request police help to remove the demonstrators. The group decided to stay.

Meclor previously advised Occupy Edmonton protesters they could be saddled with cleanup costs associated with the camp. The company spoke with the group on Friday, and decided to give the demonstrators a chance to clean up the site on their own.

“We’re not going to be unreasonable,” said Ralph Young, CEO and president of Melcor.

Three men were arrested by police when they refused to voluntarily leave the park Friday morning. They were charged with trespassing and issued summonses for $287. Any personal belongings found by police on the property will be processed and can be claimed by the owners over the next few days.

Mohamed, who was sleeping at the camp when police arrived, said officers tossed protesters’ blankets, tents and their wood-burning stove into a large pile now inside the fence.

“For 42 days, we have built a community in this park and have pushed for changes that will work for and not against the 99 per cent of us,” Amie Bursey, a member of Occupy Edmonton, said in a statement released by the group.

“I hope one day we have a system that listens and supports those peacefully pushing for change rather than criminalizing and silencing them. Today Edmonton lost something very special.”

By about 7:30 a.m. Friday, protesters had returned to the site to tie signs to the metal fence that now circles the park. “Change is in the wind” one large yellow-and-black banner reads.

Mike Hudema of Greenpeace Canada, a member of Occupy Edmonton, said the group would meet Friday evening at Grant MacEwan University to discuss their next steps.

“We will continue … in some fashion, whether it be occupying a new site or organizing in a different fashion,” Hudema said.

He said he was concerned that police decided to dismantle the camp in the middle of the night.

“They didn’t do it under the scrutiny of the public, because I don’t think this action was the right action to take,” Hudema said.

Police believed it would be safer for everyone if the camp was taken down by police in the early morning hours, said Clair Seyler, a spokeswomen with Edmonton police.

“We’ve always been looking at our options, and we all knew that our No. 1 priority was safety,” Seyler said.

Melcor said its concern was with standards of health and safety at the camp.

“During the six-week occupation, there were dozens of calls to police, fire and ambulance to attend to issues at the site,” Melcor said in a statement. “Given the seriousness of the many infractions, and the risks to personal safety, Melcor determined that it was imperative to end the unauthorized trespass on the property.”

Demonstrators had been camping there since Oct. 15.