ANP Productions | Source: ANP
Yesterday at 12:47
Amsterdam
The consultation between the board of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupying the Binnengasthuis site has not yet resulted in any concrete agreements. This is what Rector Magnificus of the UvA Peter-Paul Verbeek told city channel AT5. According to Verbeek, the board talked with the activists for more than an hour and the discussions will continue at 4 p.m.
The demonstrators want the university to cut all ties with Israeli institutions. They have been blocking the site in the center of Amsterdam since Tuesday evening. Some of them also spent the night there. There was also a demonstration on the UvA’s Roeterseiland campus on Monday evening. That protest camp was cleared by the police.
“I am very happy that we are in discussions,” Verbeek told AT5. “We understand very well that the situation in Gaza affects them very much, it affects us too.” According to the rector, the demonstrators have submitted a number of demands to the university board. “We’ve been talking about it quietly, but we haven’t reached an agreement yet.”
Proposals made
According to the UvA, the talks will continue later on Wednesday “to give the parties involved time to think about the proposals made”, the university said in a statement. “The Executive Board will keep in touch with the demonstrators and hopes to work towards a solution that puts an end to this situation and that works for all parties.”
According to AT5, Rector Magnificus Verbeek made no statements about a possible report by the UvA against the demonstrators on the Binnengasthuis grounds. The demonstration on Roeterseiland was cleared on the night of Monday to Tuesday, after the UvA reported a breach of the peace. “Conversation remains the solution, even in moments when we are at odds with each other on campus,” the UvA said in the statement published on Wednesday.
