Read back | Building empty, but full of barricades and graffiti on walls

“Board should listen to protesters”

The Central Works Council (COR) asks the Executive Board to “listen to the students and colleagues who are protesting, instead of escalating immediately”. At the same time, the COR also understands that colleagues who were surprised by the occupation may feel “uncomfortable” and “unfairly treated”.
 
The COR refers to the earlier Berenschot report in February, in which the UvA did not come out too well. “Empathy, showing emotions and understanding concerns generally helps, but this was little visible from the CvB,” the researchers wrote two months back.

This liveblog is now closed.

Police enter Maagdenhuis
The arrest team is entering the building through the door beneath the front steps. Around thirty police officers are involved, equipped with helmets and holding shields at the ready. A police helicopter circles above the square.

Outside, the demonstrators — around one hundred in total — continue singing.

At the intersection near the American Bookstore, which was recently cordoned off to make room for the police van, things remain calm.

Riot police preparing 
Riot police are preparing to enter the Maagdenhuis via the entrance beneath the front steps. Members of the press are being pushed off the square. Under police escort, a touring car has arrived, presumably to transport detained demonstrators. The crowd on the square is being cleared to allow the bus to approach the main entrance. Further down the Spui, space is also being made, and tram 7 has been halted.

Inside the Maagdenhuis, demonstrators have set off smoke bombs in the colours of the Palestinian flag.

Arrest 
Riot police have now entered the Maagdenhuis. According to Het Parool, some demonstrators are attempting to leave the building via a side entrance. At least one arrest has been made.

Just outside the square, around sixty demonstrators remain near the police line. They are singing protest songs. Riot police, equipped with shields and helmets, have formed a line to keep them at a distance from the Maagdenhuis.

Damage 
Demonstrators have been urged to leave the building. If they do not comply, police will begin clearing the premises, according to a spokesperson for the city’s security triangle (mayor, police and public prosecutor).

According to the spokesperson, damage has been done inside the Maagdenhuis. Offices have been broken into, security cameras disabled, and emergency exits barricaded.

Spui surrounded
Riot police have now surrounded the entire square. Demonstrators and members of the press are being pushed off the square. Protesters have formed a human chain. Officers are confiscating the protesters’ shields and removing them. Batons are once again being used forcefully.

Fight breaks out
A fight broke out between about dozens of protesters and 20 policemen. The policemen beat them vigorously to keep the protesters at bay. The latter defend themselves with homemade shields made of wood. Press is kept away.

Riot police prepare to act
The riot police appear to be getting ready to take action. Officers are conferring with one another; some are entering police vans, while others are positioning themselves near the cordon. Meanwhile, a prisoner transport van has pulled up close to the barrier.

The demonstrators have withdrawn inside. The door is presumed to be barricaded.

Victim support
Staff members at the Maagdenhuis were escorted out of the building this afternoon with the help of in-house emergency staff. According to UvA board president Edith Hooge, the situation felt threatening to them. “We will be arranging victim support,” she told Het Parool.

Bottles of water
Around ten demonstrators attempted to pass the police cordon and threw bottles of water and juice towards the entrance steps. Police officers on site formed a line to prevent them from breaking through. One of the activists was struck with a baton, prompting the group to erupt in angry shouting.

A short while later, several occupiers appeared on the roof of the Maagdenhuis. They were met with loud applause from the now more than eighty demonstrators gathered on the Spui. The occupiers on the roof unveiled a large banner reading: “Cut ties with genocide”.

Fundraiser
A donation page is now live, where people can contribute to the Students Solidarity Movement. “We are occupying a historic site, which has been occupied many times before by students who all rose up against the undemocratic, opaque and morally unjust policies of the UvA administration,” the text on the donation page reads.

The group says it needs funds for things like printing, medical supplies and food.

Speech
Someone has now come outside from the Maagdenhuis to give a speech. The UvA is being accused of complicity in “ethnic cleansing in Palestine”. According to the speaker, the UvA supports universities and companies in Israel that supply weapons to the military.

The speaker becomes emotional during the speech. “Palestinians are losing loved ones every minute. We must raise our voices, louder than ever. For every mother who lost a child, for all aid workers.”

During the speech, a banner is hung from the window above the entrance reading: “students and staff for Palestine”.

Emergency exits blocked
The activists have blocked the emergency exits. As a result, all staff members had to leave the building. “It was no longer a safe situation”, said an UvA spokesperson.

Two staff members are watching. “We left the building in a very calm manner, through the bike storage area inside”, one said. Someone from the crisis team had informed them that all staff should take their belongings and leave the building. Staff are now continuing their work from home.

Dr Sirin
On Instagram, activist group Amsterdam Encampment states that they have “reclaimed” the Maagdenhuis in honour of Dr Sirin Mohammed Al-Attar. According to the group, she was a dedicated UNRWA gynaecologist who was killed on October 11th 2023 in the al-Bureij camp in the Gaza Strip.

“Dr Sirin is not alone”, the group writes. “She is one of at least 62,614 Palestinians who have been killed by the Zionist “Israeli” regime”.

Pressing charches

The UvA has filed a police report, an UvA spokesperson said. That means it is now up to the triangle (mayor, police and Public Prosecution Service) to decide whether and how to intervene.

The activists inside call it “a disgrace” that the UvA “does not want to listen to the demonstrators and immediately proceeds to filing a report”.

The spokesperson for the activists also says it is “a disgrace that the UvA is not even willing to consider cutting ties”.

Police presence
An estimated fifty to one hundred activists have entered the building. Police are now present and have cordoned off the Spui. Outside, protesters are chanting slogans.

According to a UvA spokesperson, most university staff have now left the building. A staff member on site said this happened peacefully.

The activists are wearing sunglasses and scarves around their heads to remain as anonymous as possible, the spokesperson added. “They entered carrying sleeping bags and other items, so it appears they intend to stay for an extended period.”

The university spokesperson described the occupation as “intimidating and threatening”. The UvA is currently considering whether to file an official complaint.

Activists have once again called for the occupation of the Maagdenhuis. According to a spokesperson for the University of Amsterdam, the activists are currently in the building’s entrance hall. It remains unclear how many people are involved.

The group says they are occupying the building to mark the one-year anniversary of the first occupation at the UvA. They are urging supporters to bring sleeping bags, food, water, and materials for building barricades.

“When our government fails us, it becomes our duty to resist,” activist group Amsterdam Encampment wrote on Instagram. “After countless failed attempts to go into dialogue with the UvA on their ties to Israeli universities that act complicit to the genocide, we see no other choice but to resist, and therefore occupy this building."

“The only result of our previous actions was that the UvA suspended a student exchange programme with the Hebrew University. We are outraged by their desire to renew that connection.”

“It’s very unfortunate that this is happening again for the staff working in the Maagdenhuis,” the UvA spokesperson said. “Their work is once again being disrupted.”