German police evacuated a pro-Palestinian protest camp that occupied a courtyard at Freie Universitaet in Berlin this Tuesday (7).
Around 150 people set up tents on the university campus throughout the morning, joining the call of the “Berlin Student Coalition” to occupy German universities.
Students from several Berlin universities joined the protest, carrying Palestinian flags and banners reading “All eyes on Rafah” and shouting slogans supporting the Palestinians and denouncing Israel and Germany.
Among the group's demands were the lifting of all criminal charges against students and non-students who had been politically active in demonstrating solidarity with Palestine on campuses and in public opposition to the Berlin Senate's proposed reforms that would allow for the expulsion of students for political reasons.
The group also called for a ban on police entry on campus and demanded the reinstatement of academics and staff at German universities and research institutes who had been expelled or deprived of funding due to their political stance on Palestine.
“Indiscriminate violence and loss of life, rooted in decades of colonial history, demand our immediate attention and action,” the Berlin Student Coalition said in an email.
More than 25 police vehicles surrounded the camp and police said they had to vacate the area due to a request from the university management, as the protest was not authorized. The police action would have started by asking for the area to be cleared through loudspeakers and, later, resorted to force.
Student protests over the war and academic ties to Israel began to spread across Europe, but remained on a much smaller scale than those seen in the United States.
Berlin's Freie Universitaet said protesters attempted to enter university classrooms throughout the morning with the aim of occupying them, adding that the university had filed criminal complaints and suspended lectures in several buildings.
Source: CNN Brasil
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