Students in Germany, Switzerland stage pro-Palestine demonstrations

By Erbil Basay and Muhammet Ikbal Arslan

BERLIN / LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AA) - University students in Germany’s capital protested Thursday against a crackdown on Palestine supporters, police violence and a backlash from local media.

Around 300 demonstrators gathered in front of the “Silberlaube” building at the Free University of Berlin, reacting to a recent crackdown on Palestine supporters' protests at universities. Some faculty members also joined the demonstration.

On May 7, students criticized police intervention in a demonstration organized by about 150 students at the Free University in support of Palestinians by setting up tents in the inner garden of the university and demanding that the university administration withdraw criminal charges against students detained during the demonstrations and allow demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine.

They also reacted in an open letter to the German newspaper Bild which targeted the faculty members who supported the action and to Minister of Education and Research Bettina Stark-Watzinger, who then criticized the letter.

In his speech, Hajo Funke, a professor at the Free University of Berlin, criticized the police intervention in the student protest on May 7 and noted that the police operation was an indication of the escalation of tensions.

Funke criticized the university administration, saying its officials should have been on the scene and spoken to the police to prevent the violence from getting out of control.

He noted that the reactions of Bild and Stark-Watzinger to the statement of more than 1,000 people were reminiscent of the McCarthy era in the US in the 1950s.

- Students demonstrate in support of Palestine at universities

On May 3, police intervened against Palestine supporters staging a sit-in in the garden of Humboldt University of Berlin and detained several students.

On May 7, around 150 students at the Free University of Berlin had set up a solidarity camp with tents in the university's courtyard to show support for Palestine and protest the crackdown on Palestinian supporters in Germany.
Police intervened in the demonstration, dispersed the camp and detained many Palestinian supporters.

Bild newspaper targeted the academics who signed the open letter and supported the students demonstrating at universities and Stark-Watzinger criticized the open letter of the academics.

- Pro-Palestine demonstration at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology resumes

A pro-Palestine demonstration that began on May 7 at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne and ended the same day after police intervention resumed Thursday.

A statement by the management of the institute said a group of around 50 people started a sit-in protest at the entrance of the architecture institute.

It said the protest was held without incident and the police were asked to intervene.

Following a meeting between the rectorate and students on May 8, the administration promised to thoroughly analyze its research agreements with Israeli institutions.

Protests at the universities of Fribourg and Neuchatel continued against Israel's war on Gaza and in support of protests for Palestine at universities across the US and Europe.

- Protests in support of Palestine at Swiss universities

Police intervened in demonstrations in support of Palestine at the Swiss universities of Bern and Basel on Wednesday.

A pro-Palestine protest which started on May 7 at the University of Geneva ended on May 15 following police intervention.

Demonstrations in support of Palestine at the Geneva School of Landscape, Engineering and Architecture and the University of Zurich also ended after police intervened.

In protests that began in the US at New York’s Columbia University in April and spread around the world, students condemned Israel's attacks on civilians in Gaza and demanded that school administrations stop supporting the genocide of the Palestinian people.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the enclave.

More than 35,200 Palestinians have since been killed, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and over 79,200 others injured since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered Tel Aviv to ensure that its forces do not commit acts of genocide and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Serdar Dincel from Istanbul