By Omar Bah
Cornell University PhD student Momodou Taal, a citizen of Britain and The Gambia, threatened with suspension and the revocation of his F-1 student visa by Cornell for participating in peaceful protests against the Israeli ‘genocide’ in Gaza has spoken out on the matter. Reacting to the threats, on Saturday, Taal joined his attorney Eric Lee for a discussion on his case, the mass movement against the ‘genocide’ and the implications for free speech. The discussion was moderated by World Socialist Web Site writer Andrea Peters.
Asked to explain the circumstances surrounding his suspension and the threat of deportation he is facing, Taal said: “This most recent iteration of repressive tactics by the university dated back to last October. Since last year, there’s been a sustained campaign on campus to call for Cornell University to diverse from Arms Manufacturers, that are complicit in Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.
“So, we’ve had by way of rallies, sittings, walkouts all of which have been peaceful. I often speak at these rallies, and I think that is what has led to the circumstances of me being visible. And now a target, and I think this most recent suspension, which came down on 25th of September is due to a recent rally where I spoke,” he said.
He said when he left the rally he bumped into the University’s police department chief.
“He’s someone due to my campaign against Israel is kind of been somewhat aggressive towards me and somewhat military towards me in many ways. When we bumped at each he madea funny noise and then the next day I saw an email that said I have been referred and the email came from him directly which in the first place sent an alarm because normally that should come straight from the Student Code of Conduct Committee rather than coming from the police officer himself,” he said.
He said he was later informed by Immigration Official that essentially; he has no grace period and he should prepare to leave the country.
Taal’s lawyer, Eric, said the whole saga is happening within a broader context of a “very widespread assault on democratic rights and I would add not just in the United States but internationally. I mean we’ve seen protests against the genocide get shut down in country after country often with violent methods”.
“In the United States, I believe 100 students at the University of California Santa Cruz have been banned from campus because they were arrested while participating in a peaceful protest,” he said.
