Tonight the Police have evicted the around 40 students who, since this afternoon, had decided to occupy the dean’s office of the Faculty of Philology of the University of Seville, at the headquarters of the Rectorate, in the Tobacco Factory. This decision led the Rectorate to order the closure of access to this building, in the heart of the Andalusian capital, where university students have been camping out for four weeks in protest of the Gaza war.
Shortly before 11:45 p.m., several riot police managed to force their way through the door of the dean’s office, which the students were trying to close with their bodies and a piece of furniture. Moments later, one of the police officers hits with his baton some of the young people who were closest to the door to try to gain access, as can be seen in the images broadcast by account X of the camped students, at the time. in which the agents enter the room. In another post One of the students is heard shouting that one of her classmates is injured with a cut on his arm while a riot police officer is seen trying to immobilize another student. “This is how the police treat a non-violent student protest. Shame for the “security” forces and for the University of Seville,” the tweet said.
“We are scared,” one of the students who was part of the occupation acknowledged to this newspaper through WhatsApp, when they were still inside the dean’s office. This interlocutor explained that the injured comrade is 18 years old and that the average of those who are locked up is between that age and 23 years old. The police have proceeded to identify the young people who at the time of publishing this information were still inside the dean’s office. After midnight they began to go outside the Rectorate, as confirmed by the university student, shocked by the experience. The agents took all the belongings from the camp in a moving truck. The students have called a rally to protest the eviction at six this afternoon in front of the Rectorate.
The Rectorate justifies the action
What affects the most is what happens closest. So you don’t miss anything, subscribe.
Subscribe
The rector of the US, Miguel Ángel Castro, has justified the eviction through a statement released first time this Tuesday morning. In it he criticizes the “unacceptable” attitude of the “group of people” who in recent weeks had occupied the grass surrounding the Tobacco Factory building, “progressively deteriorating them,” in reference to the university spaces, and “limiting free movement.” and development of activities” of the university. “The actions of these individuals have been increasing their hostility and aggressiveness in recent times,” the note continues in which it refers to the “assault of the deanery” on Monday, in which they set up barricades “with material from our furniture” and “ “They have attacked a person hired at our institution.” For this reason and “given the worrying advance of hostility and the seriousness of the events”, the Government Delegation was asked to proceed with the eviction and identification of those who had invaded the deanery and to dismantle the encampment set up in the building’s market. remembering that it is classified as an Asset of Cultural Interest. “During this morning both requests were attended to.”
The note concludes by warning that in the US “no one is more than anyone else” and “each one has the democratic responsibility that we have given ourselves in our system of self-government.” “We will not allow anyone to violate that.” Sources from the Government Delegation confirm that throughout last night 50 people who had locked themselves in the office of the Dean of Philology were identified, without any of them being arrested.
“Insufficient” measures
The students announced this Monday an indefinite confinement as a “new escalation of social pressure on the rector’s team” that the campers consider has not been forceful enough in its decision to cut ties with Israeli universities that have not condemned the Government’s war of his country against the Palestinian people. For them, the decision adopted by the faculty on May 27 “is insufficient.” “Only relations with two Israeli universities were temporarily suspended until they committed to peace, a condition that lacks clear criteria and does not guarantee a lasting interruption of academic ties,” they indicated in a note sent to the media. . The students also question that Castro, “refuses to name the genocide against the Palestinian people as such and continues to talk about a conflict, as if it were a war between equals.” “No mention has been made of US relations with companies and financial entities that sponsor the genocide, such as the Santander bank,” the students indicated in a statement released by the organizers of the camp.
🇵🇸✊️| Today, Monday, June 10, in an attempt to occupy the rectorate, since the rector refuses to speak with us after 29 days of camping, we have tried to access the closed rectoral area through the cafeteria kitchen.
— US for Palestine (@USporPalestina) June 10, 2024
“What we want is for the rector to cut relations with any Israeli entity or that collaborates with the genocide. “We want the rector to speak with us directly,” the same interlocutor told this newspaper during the afternoon. The university student explained that her classmates were behaving peacefully, something they have reiterated throughout the day. on their social networks: “The dean came in to take his things, he did it with complete peace of mind because we are not here to attack anyone,” explained the student who complained that throughout the day no one with responsibility at the US had tried to get in touch with them.
The rector reacted throughout the afternoon by sending a statement to the university professors: “With this message I wish to inform you that the Rectorate, this afternoon, has made the decision to close access to the Tobacco Factory building. Late this morning (Monday), the Faculty of Philology and the Faculty of Geography and History have been occupied by a group of protesters who have blocked the corridors with furniture taken from our classrooms; Subsequently, they have occupied the offices of the Dean of Philology and some areas of the upper floor, which has forced the evacuation of the building.
The camped students consider that with the escalation of the Israeli offensive in recent days, the measures adopted by the US are not enough. The rector, following the decisions of his colleagues from other Andalusian universities, in line with the conference of rectors (CRUE), agreed to temporarily suspend the academic, scientific and cultural exchange agreement with the Ben-Gurion University, the mobility activities with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and those corresponding to the three current research projects of European programs with Israeli universities included, until they show “a firm commitment to peace and compliance with international humanitarian law.” He also announced an action plan to provide housing, food and insurance for Palestinian members of the university community; as well as support aid to Palestinian universities.
That same day, the camping students already expressed their opposition to these measures, considering them lukewarm. As the different rectors of the Andalusian universities announced the breaking of their ties with programs and other university centers in Israel, the camps in protest against Israel’s war in Gaza began to rise, except for that of Seville, whose protagonists demand firmer decisions. from their rector and hold a meeting with him to address their demands.
You can follow EL PAÍS Education in Facebook and xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
#police #evict #students #occupied #dean #Philology #University #Seville