13:45
VVD starts, but Daan Wijnants is soon asked: ‘What is the hypocritical difference?’
VVD faction leader Daan Wijnants may kick off the debate. The VVD member has been concerned for days about the violence he has observed among demonstrators and is particularly active on X (former Twitter).
He points out that erecting and strengthening barricades is not a demonstration, speaks of anti-Semitic slogans and destruction of buildings and points to the stones thrown at ‘courageous riot police’, including ‘an amateur poison gas attack’ with ammonia. He praises the police and riot police in recent days. According to Wijnants, the mayor – the triangle – has generally acted well and he thanks the efforts of the officers.
This is followed by an interruption Sheher Khan (Think). He asks Wijnants if he wants to condemn the counter-protesters who threw a torch at tents on Monday. Wijnants says he will wait for Halsema’s letter there, because he ‘doesn’t know exactly’ what there is is happened. He disapproves of all violence, he says after repeated questions.
Rob Hofland (D66) is also surprised at how Wijnants reacts, since the VVD member was present at everything. “What’s the hypocritical difference in him not being able to condemn this?” Hofland wonders.
Wijnants wants Hofland to moderate his tone and says that D66 has been ‘silent as a mouse’ in recent days. Hofland: “I did respond in Het Parool. I don’t tweet live, but I speak to the media properly.”
13:36
Teacher Rébecca Franco (UvA): ‘We are angry, indignant and sad’
Rebecca Franco was the final speaker to speak on behalf of a large group of employees at the UvA, where she teaches. “We have watched with horror as violence took place against the same young people I teach and against colleagues.”
She points out that the protest was peaceful until “troublemakers, who later identified themselves as pro-Israel, came and disrupted things.” According to her, it was quiet and peaceful on the night from Monday to Tuesday. “There was no need for an evacuation at all.”
She bursts into tears as she says she has spent the morning documenting the violence against her students. “There have been so many opportunities to de-escalate, but the police missed that opportunity. We are angry, outraged and sad.”
Franco points out that there is ‘no room for police’ on campus. She also receives great applause from the public gallery, which is packed.
13:27
Dylan Bakker (Bij1) also speaks: ‘Extreme police violence by the police’
Bij1 is back on the council for a while, because South East district committee member Dylan Bakker reports as the second speaker. He speaks of ‘extreme police violence in which a bulldozer drives into the public’.
He points to the use of batons by the riot police and the ‘hatred that the riot police radiated towards demonstrators’. Bakker states that demonstrators are angry, desperate and displeased about the genocide in Gaza. Bakker believes that the months of protests have so far been ignored too much and are even suppressed. “Significant, because two years ago Halsema apologized for the history of slavery. But what do these excuses mean if you don’t condemn apartheid in Israel? Criticism of the state of Israel is different from anti-Semitism.”
He calls on all parties to support the demonstrators.
Also the third speaker Nikita Shahbazi speaks of months of attempts to draw attention to the war in Gaza. “It has made no sense. The genocide continues and the municipality has never referred to the mass slaughter, the attacks on hospitals.”
Halsema then visibly shakes her head. She agrees with Schwartz who previously said that protests were peaceful until the police intervened.
.
13:20
Sophie Schwartz (Sophie Straat) is the first speaker: ‘Make no distinction between the Jewish community and pro-Palestine’
The first speaker is Sophie Schwartz, better known to many people as singer Sophie Straat. She starts by saying that she is a Jewish Amsterdammer. “There is a lot of talk about us, but I would like to make it clear that no distinction should be made between the Jewish community and pro-Palestine, or better: antigenocide.”
“My safety is also at risk if I cannot demonstrate safely, just like my allies. I can no longer stand by and watch the genocide in Gaza, committed by Israel, continue.”
Schwartz was present at the demonstrations and occupation in recent days. “As a Jewish person, I will always stand against genocide. This can never happen again. But instead of supporting our resistance, the UvA and the municipality chose to evict us. Police violence should and can never be used against peaceful demonstrators. You endanger us by continuously equating us with Israel.”
She can count on great applause from the public gallery. CDA faction leader Rogier Havelaar asks her what she thinks of the mayor’s analysis that at a certain point it was no longer a peaceful protest. Schwartz: “It was a peaceful protest until the police intervened.”
13:16
Chairman of the debate asks those present: do not disrupt the debate
Chairman Kris van der Veen starts the meeting by saying that many visitors carry emotions under their arms ‘after the intense events’ of this week. The room is full of people involved, including many students.
He calls for calm and tranquility so that the meeting can proceed smoothly. “If you want to express your emotions, go outside and let your emotions out.”
Van der Veen also says that 63 people have registered to speak. Some of this was done in writing, some via a video and during the debate four Amsterdam residents will have their say.
13:13
Kevin Kreuger (JA21): ‘Have people escaped from prison?’
Group chairman Kevin Kreuger (JA21) makes a ‘point of order’ that is ignored by mayor Femke Halsema, the committee chairman and police chief Frank Paauw. He wants to know whether people have escaped from prison and points to Nilab Ahmadi, councilor of Lijst Ahmadi-Veldhuyzen. Ahmadi has expressed solidarity with the occupiers in recent days and was present at the demonstrations.
The comment is dead-on, but the tone was set by JA21.
13:06
The debate has begun
Now that Halsema has arrived, as has Chief of Police Frank Paauw, the debate has begun. It is unusually busy in the room with almost all national media in the press gallery.
However, everyone will have to wait a while before politicians will ask Halsema questions, first it is up to the speakers. There is room for 4, but the enthusiasm was great with almost 63 registrations.
11:37
Mayor Femke Halsema about a week of UvA demonstrations: ‘There was no longer any peaceful protest’
Just before the emergency debate with the city council this afternoon, Mayor Femke Halsema sent a statement of facts. ‘What started as peaceful protests,’ Halsema writes, ‘turned into unsafe situations, resulting in criminal behavior and major disruptions to public order. A large number of the actions took place on the grounds and in buildings of the UvA. Considerable destruction was caused.’
Halsema is also critical of the university, after the first demonstrators gathered on the campus near Roeterseiland on Monday around 12 noon. She writes that the UvA failed to get in touch with the activists, who indicated that they did not want to talk to the police.
Read the article: Mayor Femke Halsema about a week of UvA demonstrations
10:41
Emergency debate in Amsterdam city hall about UvA protests
The Amsterdam city council will discuss the pro-Palestinian protests this week and the actions of the police on Friday afternoon. Mayor Femke Halsema is also present at the meeting of the General Affairs Committee, which has been scheduled at the request of all factions. The emergency debate starts at 1 p.m.
The demonstrations that are the subject of the emergency debate started last Monday afternoon, when a group of demonstrators set up tents on the Roeterseiland campus of the University of Amsterdam (UvA). With their protest, the demonstrators wanted to force the university to cut all ties with Israeli organizations.
A conversation that took place on Wednesday between some of the demonstrators and the UvA board did not result in any concrete agreements.
There was another protest on Thursday. A few thousand people gathered on the Roeterseiland campus at the beginning of the evening. They later walked through the city in a march, which ended on Spuistraat. There the riot police carried out several small charges. The police arrested three people.
Read the article: What can Halsema expect during the emergency debate?
10:28
How Amsterdam politics is struggling with the UvA demonstrations
Student protests and Amsterdam, it is a historic combination, writes political reporter Tim Wagemakers in Republic of Amsterdam, in which he highlights a political topic from the city.
Coalition parties face a difficult task: how do they not completely abolish institutions such as the police but also the UvA, while they also want to offer support for the protesting students?
Read his column: Then it was Eberhard van der Laan with an eye patch. But this week was different
10:27
Welcome to this live blog
Good morning and welcome to this live blog about today’s emergency debate. Mayor Femke Halsema is awaiting a debate with the city council at 1 p.m. about the protests at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the actions of the triangle. In this live blog, political reporters take the lead Het Parool Tim Wagemakers and David Hielkema follow the debate.
The demonstrations that are the subject of the emergency debate started last Monday afternoon, when a group of demonstrators set up tents on the Roeterseiland campus of the UvA. With their protest, the demonstrators wanted to force the university to cut all ties with Israeli organizations.
Read last Monday’s reconstruction here: Once a large spotlight had been arranged, the evacuation of the UvA Roeterseiland campus could begin
Today is the fifth day that the Pro-Palestinian demonstrators will demonstrate in front of the town hall. Follow our live blog for all developments.
