When pro-Palestinian protests in The Hague and Nijmegen were cleared out last week, several people were injured. The Dutch Student Union thinks this is not okay: “Students who speak out deserve a listening ear, not a baton or police dog.”
It’s not the first time that students have told the union they feel unsafe during protests, which is why it’s launching an anonymous hotline. One of the things the LSVb wants to do with the reports collected is increase the pressure on university administrators to talk to protesters instead of calling in the police.
Swifter action
The police do seem to have been taking swifter action lately. Last year, occupations and tent camps were sometimes tolerated for days, but last Tuesday, the riot police were on the doorstep of Leiden University’s campus in The Hague within the hour. Pro-Palestinian protesters were occupying the entrance hall of the building there.
After a short while, they voluntarily left the building, only to block the entrance itself. Police cleared out this entrance and arrested several protesters. In so doing, they used force: according to university magazine Mare five people were rendered unconscious (whether by the police or not) and others were injured.
In Nijmegen, a protester was bitten in her leg by a police dog. She had to be hospitalised. The LSVb blames administrators for calling the police in the first place, causing demonstrations to end in violence, according to the union. “And afterwards they act all innocent”, says the union.
Security guards harassed
Radboud University, however, has a different take on things. In a statement, the board says that protesters used violence to force their way into a building on Wednesday. “During the incident, a security guard was bitten on the hand, an employee was grabbed and beaten, and another employee was scratched and had his arm injured.”
The board doesn’t regret its actions, on the contrary: “It is disgraceful that our own employees are being harassed in this way. It is good to know that the police have made arrests.”
Leiden University also believes its hand was forced because the protesters were blocking “one or more emergency exits”. According to the university, this put the safety of everyone present in the building at risk.
Last Wednesday, students and staff also protested in Utrecht. Utrecht University President Anton Pijpers was there and answered questions about police conduct during previous protests. He explained that he draws the line at occupations of university buildings.