Address of Dr. Hanna Nasir, Birzeit University president, at the rally that took place on Monday March 12, 2001

My dear friends
On behalf of BZU, and in honor of the martyrs of the Palestine struggle - those who died on the road towards independence since the conflict began back more than seventy years ago, I salute you for your solidarity with the University, with the population of the villages around Ramallah and al Bireh and for your solidarity with both Ramallah and Bireh that are themselves besieged.

Our job my friends at Birzeit is NOT to go into protests and demonstrations - peacefully as they may be. We are a university - one that caters for the education of its people. Our community centers and institutes are engaged in activities and policy oriented research that is the basis of a future democratic Palestine. We engage in health studies, and developmental studies, we are engaged in drafting the legal laws for the country, and we are engaged in studying water issues that affects our lives. We also offer media training for professional journalists. Yes, that is basically our job and mission. - teaching, training, research and community oriented policies. . In that mission, we are guided by the principles of democratic values, and we uphold the principles of freedom of speech for faculty, staff and students. Under no circumstances will these principles be compromised.

Today these principles are being g compromised! They are compromised because free access to the University is not possible for the students and staff. There cannot be free access with the spiteful destruction of part of the main road between Ramallah and Birzeit. There cannot be free access - even if one can walk part of the road - but with the presence of two or three intimidating tanks manning this road. Students' mission is to go to study not to go to war.

As many of you might realize, this road between Ramllah and Birzeit has been a major project for Birzeit to have it widened and improved to make it easier for students to travel to Birzeit. International donors have invested a lot in that road - essentially investing in Birzeit and its students. It took several years and that investment gave good results - safer roads, faster accessibility. Within a couple of days this investment seems to have collapsed.

For many of us at Birzeit, what the Israeli have done is essentially closing the university without having - like in the past to issue a military order of closure, when BZU was under the direct authority of the military commander. But in many respects, the measures taken by the Israeli army presently are worse, as they totally disrupt the University, and threatens the livelihoods and lives of numerous rural households. These are not only a harsh reminder of the continued presence of the Israeli military occupation but also a dire omen for the future and casts doubt on the new Israeli government's stated intention to ease the siege against Palestinian civilians.

There is no question about it that the Israeli army's destruction and blockade of the Birzeit road that affects more than 5000 student and over 700 faculty and staff members who mostly use this road on a daily basis. The action is not only a form of collective punishment prohibited by the Fourth Geneva Convention but also a "grave breach" of the Convention. Signatories of the Convention have a clear duty to intervene to "ensure respect" of the Convention and the University calls for such immediate intervention.

This protest is to highlight this issue and we call upon our friends - local, international not to let the Israeli military get away with these violations. Israel has long been acclaimed as the bastion of democracy in the Middle East. That statement is not enough by itself. One has to always examine whether the Israeli decisions are legal or not (according to international law) even if they are taken democratically. So the key issue is not democracy but legality. The destruction of the land is illegal, the building of the settlements is illegal and the annexation of East Jerusalem is illegal - although all of these actions have been taken by Israel in a purely democratic process. So my friends let us not confuse democracy and legality and let us not allow Israel -under the banner of democracy get away with everything illegal and sugar coat it with the term democracy.

We my friends have stretched the hand of peace to Israel after making a major compromise on our historical rights. In spite of what has been going on the ground for the last six month and in which hundreds of our people died, our hand is still stretched. It will continue to be stretched in peace as long at the Israelis stop their illegal actions, as long as the Israelis understand the brutality of their actions on the lives of the Palestinians, as long as Israel respects and abides by the signed agreements and UN resolution, and as long as the Israelis understand that the military occupation HAS to end. Yes that is our motto - End the occupation and LET our people LIVE.