Pro-Palestine protesters storm Amsterdam university building; Affiliations unclear
A group of several hundred protesters stormed into the University of Amsterdam (UvA) building on Roeterseiland on Monday. Some of them were shouting that they would occupy the building, according to AT5. The police and university had not yet intervened at 2:00 p.m. The composition of the protest was unclear, and it was not known how many of the demonstrators were actually linked to the university as students, faculty or staff.
A NOS reporter at the scene said that a group of people dressed in black and wearing masks led the several hundred protesters inside, some carrying sleeping bags. A significant proportion of the crowd left the building again 15 minutes later. It was unclear how many protesters remained. A photo from the scene showed people milling about in the entrance hall and several tents being erected.
A spokesperson for the UvA told AT5 that it was telling lecturers and students who were not participating in the protest to evacuate the building. These involve students and lecturers attending and giving classes in the building. They did not initially say anything about removing protestors from the building, but by 2:45 p.m., the university had reported the demonstration to police.
Protesters remained inside, despite the UvA officially closing the Roterseiland campus buildings. Closing the facility and reporting protestors to police as trespassers is a necessary first step before Amsterdam authorities can decide to intervene.
A police spokesperson told the local broadcaster that the police had not yet stepped in, and remained outside of the building, where most people of the protesters were stationed. The police said they were in contact with the university about what should happen next.
There were several other demonstrations organized at other research and applied sciences universities. About 200 people were involved in a protest at the University of Groningen, and there were no plans to break up the protest as long as it remained peaceful and keep facilities accessible for students and staff.
Several hundred people also participated in a walk-out protest at Utrecht University, though several students their were connected to the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten arts college in Utrecht. There were also demonstrations at Radboud University, TU Eindhoven, and Maastricht University
The action came after walk-out protests by university staff and students across the country. Hundreds of employees and students walked out of the various lecture halls at 11:00 a.m. to protest against the war in Gaza and police action against protesters last week.
