Four men were arrested as pro-Palestine activists clashed with police at a protest outside Queen’s University Belfast during a visit of Hillary Clinton.
The former US Secretary of State had to be whisked away from the university as trouble escalated at the gates of the campus on University Road on Thursday.
US Special Envoy Joe Kennedy was also forced to cancel a planned engagement at the Mandela Hall at Queen’s Students Union, opposite the university.
Up to 200 people joined the protest, which was held on Thursday on the final day of the three-day Global Innovation Summit 2024.
A spokesperson for protest organisers QUB Palestine Assembly told The Irish News they did not agree with the former US secretary of state’s stance on Gaza.
A statement from Queen’s, where Mrs Clinton is chancellor, said it was “disappointed at the action of this small number of protestors and condemn their behaviour”.
Police confirmed four men were arrested on suspicion of a range of public order offences and remained in police custody.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police have arrested four men following public order offences in the University Road area of south Belfast. The men were arrested on suspicion of numerous offences and remain in police custody at this time.
“Officers will remain in the south Belfast area this evening and a full robust investigation will follow in due course.”
In March, a group of 260 Queen’s staff, alumni and students at wrote a letter “registering profound concern” over the former first lady’s role as chancellor.
Earlier on Thursday, the conference had been addressed by First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.
Queen’s said it was “committed to freedom of expression, the right to hold a range of views and the right to a peaceful protest”.
“This applies to Queen’s students, staff, visitors and indeed the wider public,” the statement said.
“Whilst we recognise and support any individual or group’s right to protest this must be conducted in a peaceful and respectful manner and are disappointed at the action of this small number of protestors and condemn their behaviour.”
The university said the conference had “provided a platform for people to discuss and debate different views constructively on current global issues”.
“Queen’s is committed to providing an open and safe space to have difficult conversations,” its statement said.
“Queen’s University has led the way in response to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East through calling for a ceasefire, providing scholarships for Palestinian students and divestment policies and has responded positively to the concerns of our university population where appropriate.”
Inside the conference, Mrs Clinton told an invited audience that Belfast was “quickly reinventing itself” after the end of decades of conflict.
“You’ve heard so much over the course of the last few days about Belfast, (a) city that is quickly reinventing itself and one of the main reasons, I would argue, is because of the end of conflict, which I was very – like so many of us – gratified to see,” she said.
“We had an extraordinary conference here a year-and-a-half ago to celebrate the Good Friday Agreement, the end of conflict, a moving away from the past to look towards the future, the very strong relationship that this university, in particular, but others have with the business community, forging public-private partnerships.”
Protesters are understood to have gathered outside Musgrave police station in Belfast on Thursday night in support of those arrested outside QUB earlier in the day.
It is understood that some of those arrested are students at the university.
