University of Amsterdam no longer negotiating with protesters
The University of Amsterdam (UvA) will no longer enter into discussions with activists after new disturbances at the university yesterday, Geert ten Dam, chairman of the UvA executive board, told NOS. Pro-Palestinian protesters stormed into the UvA building on Roeterseiland and caused a lot of damage, though Ten Dam couldn’t yet mention the amounts.
“We will continue the discussions, but we will do so with our own people and within our normal, regular consultation structure,” Ten Dam told the broadcaster. “We will no longer talk to activists and we will no longer sit around the table with people wearing face-covering clothing. We only did that last week in an ultimate attempt to de-escalate.”
At 11:00 a.m., walkout protests took place at various universities throughout the Netherlands in protest against the war in Gaza and the authorities breaking up student protests last week. According to the UvA, the walkout happened peacefully. But when it ended, some demonstrators remained behind, and others joined them, including people dressed in black and wearing masks.
The masked group led the charge into the UvA building and caused extensive damage, the university said. The riot police eventually intervened and broke up the demonstration. The UvA pressed charges.
“It is unprecedented, shocking, and completely unacceptable,” Ten Dam told NOS. The university evacuated the students and lecturers who were not participating in the protest from the building. They fled in panic, according to Ten Dam. “I thought the worst thing, besides all the destruction, was that employees had to flee.”
The masked group made it to the sixth floor of the building, where the UvA board is located. “We cannot escape the impression that it was aimed at us,” Ten Dam said. The board wasn’t present, “otherwise we would have fled too.”
The UvA decided to close most of its buildings on Tuesday and Wednesday following the past week’s protests and disturbances. “At this time we cannot guarantee the safety of our students and employees. That is always priority number one for us.”
The walkouts at the other universities happened without incident.
Student union LSVb called the protests at the University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University last week, and the walkouts throughout the country on Monday a symptom of the lack of democracy at Dutch universities. According to the union, students have been asking the UvA for transparency about its ties with Israel for months, but the university only provided that after protesters set up an encampment and barricades at one of its buildings.
“This shows exactly why the protests are necessary,” LSVb chairman Elisa Weehuizen said. “There is a major imbalance of power between students and administrators, meaning that educational institutions can ignore the voices of students far too easily.”
The LSVb urged universities to be more democratic moving forward. “Students must be able to form a real counterforce,” Weenhuizen said. “Students must have a say. Universities, colleges, and the Ministry of Education must now concern themselves with this."
