Occupy Calgary protesters have released a statement addressed to the city, law enforcement and the media after spending almost two months camped out at Olympic Plaza.

The protesters showed up at Olympic Plaza later on Friday morning and got into an argument with bylaw officers who had been taking down signs left in the park when campers packed up at 5 a.m.

A small group of protesters are now at the park gathered for a media conference in front of what they call an art installation, an eight foot tall spire of metal.

They have not said anything so far, saying that their refusal to speak is part of the protest because they've been silenced by bylaw.

They have released a written statement, criticizing city bylaw services for the order to eject them from the park.

Statement from the People

To: Members of the Media; duly elected representatives of the City of Calgary Council; Mayor Naheed Nenshi; Bill Bruce, Director of Animal and Bylaw Services; Rick Hanson, Chief of Police; Chief Justice Neil C. Wittman; Tom Sampson, Deputy Chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency; and especially to all members of the public.

For almost two months, we have been a living crucible where every imaginable emotion, endeavour, and dream of humanity has been confronted and thrust upon us, every day. A crucible where the clamour for dignity, justice and freedom for humanity has confronted the united by a common desire for a nobler humanity and with the desire to craft a map on which all the people of Earth could plot an inspired trajectory for humankind. As community, we are united by the internalization of the struggles of all people, from the indignity of the debt-bondage of our neighbours and nations to the ongoing, slow motion genocides of the indigenous people of our World.

This community has exercised not just peaceful assembly but the meticulous assembly of peace in our public park in the heart of our City. Where else but in our hearts can the passions that drive our ideals, our dreams, and our compassion flourish?

Are congratulations in order for this victory of bylaws and disregard over unquenchable ideas? Does the mountain of paper, bylaws, lawyers, police, false testimony, and disdain heaped on us by our government deserve accolades for its triumph over free expression? Do we celebrate that we now take part in a society where we cannot express ourselves and peacefully assemble in a public park with reasonable access to shelter and warmth while doing so without unreasonable threat of eviction, conviction, or jail? Are these the signals that our society is not free or truly democratic?

In the space where our community once stood, we leave a physical monument, "The Heart of the Beast" to all the human suffering in the world, past and present, and to our desire to overcome. Embodied within this movement are the convictions and determination of those who continue to seek and have sought out, throughout history, humanity's noble course. We humble request that it be seen as a permanent reminder to all people who visit Olympic Plaza of all the voices throughout history that have been silenced.

Earlier on Friday, the protesters were nowhere to be found, leaving in their place is an eight foot tall metal structure as well as a horde of signs.

The city won an injunction in court last Friday afternoon that made it illegal for the Occupy protesters to stay in the park or set up camp in any other park in the city.

The 15 protesters remaining in the park said that they would not be leaving their camp despite the injunction.

But in a surprise move, the Occupy Calgary protesters left the park sometime last night but left an eight foot tall metal sculpture and about 50 signs set up all around the park.

However, CTV spoke with protesters in the park on Friday morning who said they had no idea the park would be vacated and wanted to defy the court order.

The injunction ordered the protesters to leave the park by 2 p.m. and if they didn't leave, they would have been held in contempt of court.

Bill Bruce of the city's bylaw department says that he was expecting protesters to still be in the park until the 2 p.m. deadline.

Now, according to Bruce, bylaw officers will be going through the park and assessing the damage and cleaning up to make sure the park is ready for the winter season.

As for the metal installation, he says they'll impound it for 30 days and the issue on what to do with it will be brought before city council.

For more details, tune into the News at Noon.