Pro-Palestine protesters set up a tent camp on the Harmonie square just before 11 a.m. on Monday. The UG says it will allow the action for now.
‘We were expecting it’, says a spokesperson. ‘We just didn’t know when it would happen.’ The gates to the back part of the square were quickly closed. During the setup, scuffles broke out, prompting immediate intervention from UG security and the police.
The protesters entered the square with approximately six tents. In a matter of minutes, they set up the first one, while also hanging banners in front of the windows of the UKrant editorial office.
Complicit
The encampment, the activists say, follows ‘months of peaceful protests and negotiations with the university’s administration over their ties to the institutions of the colonial state of Israel, which we consider complicit in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza’.
The university has consistently downplayed the urgency of the demands and issued empty statements without any structural reforms, the protesters write.
On Friday, the UG revealed its connections to Israel, but declined to name institutes or projects. That’s not good enough, the activists feel.
Fights
A young man who was not part of the protest and who was visibly annoyed began kicking the tents as they were being set up. In response, the protesters shouted that they were here to peacefully protest and that he should stop.
When he did not, some of the protesters grabbed him. A fight ensued, initially broken up by bystanders.
A few minutes later, the police arrived on the square by bicycle. While protesters were still setting up tents, the same young man ran into the tents again and started kicking wildly. This time, the police intervened to break up the fight.
Later, the same man tore down the banners hung on the UKrant building. Protesters were annoyed with the police, who seemed to be mainly focused on their reaction, while they protected the aggressive man.
By ten past eleven, the square was filled with around a dozen tents. Banners had also been hung everywhere. Around fifty people were outside chanting slogans.
Walk-out
Shortly after, the square filled up with around two hundred people participating in the national walk-out of students and staff from universities, which was scheduled to take place around the country at 11 a.m.
In Groningen, this was supposed to take place in front of the Academy building, but it ended up at the Harmonie square instead. Those who left their work or studies did so in solidarity with those who have experienced police violence during protests.