Protest against cutbacks cancelled out of fear of pro-Palestinian violence

In a letter to the municipal council, Mayor Sharon Dijksma states that the municipality, the police and the public prosecutor's office have concrete evidence indicating that "a pro-Palestine organisation intends to hijack the demonstration. The information also shows that violence will not be shunned in the process."

The municipality, the police and the public prosecutor's office then advised the demonstration not to go ahead. "The safety of the protesters cannot be sufficiently guaranteed based on this information," the letter says. The mayor also writes that the municipality has considered moving the protest to other places, but it couldn't find any other suitable location. 

Trade unions AOb and FNV state: "It's terrible that all the students, teachers and staff wanting to protest tomorrow are now unable to make their voices heard."

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The president of the National Student Union (LSVb), Abdelkader Karbache, is also deeply disappointed but acknowledges there were few alternatives. "The municipality would have banned the demonstration anyway," he said.

Mayor Dijksma regrets that the demonstration cannot go ahead tomorrow. "I am very concerned that, at a time when it is of great value to be allowed to express your opinion, some people deprive others of this freedom under threat of violence."

The various WhatsApp groups that Utrecht University students and employees were using to communicate about the protest reacted with dismay. One of the most popular groups is administered by Law professor Bald de Vries, who has been encouraging UU employees to join the demonstration in recent weeks. He's recently published op-eds about the protest on DUB and other media. 

De Vries says that there were rumours in the WhatsApp group about pro-Palestine activists looking to hijack the demonstration. "But my own estimation was that so many people would come to the protest that their plans would not work."

De Vries is angry and disappointed that the protest can't go ahead. He notes that "the security nightmare" seems to be gaining more and more weight, which puts citizens' right to demonstrate at risk. "I trust that the mayor does have serious indications that things could go wrong. But it is extremely worrying that some 10,000 people who wanted to show how much is at stake and how much unrest there is in higher education right now cannot do so en masse. This suits the cabinet in many ways." De Vries heard the news after finishing a lecture this afternoon. "What to do next? I really have no idea."

Luuk Bruijnen, President of the Utrecht-based student union Vidius, reports that many students who were going to join the protest are turning to him to ask questions, but Vidius is equally surprised. Organisers FNV and AOb decided to call off the protest without involving student unions. Bruijnen finds it hard to react to the news because there is still a lot up in the air and consultations are ongoing. "We don't know the exact situation either," he says.

In recent weeks, Vidius has been trying to mobilise as many Utrecht students and student organisations as possible to join the demonstration. Around 500 people are now in their WhatsApp group. Bruijnen: "We expected a lot of students to come." The Vidius president regrets that those students are now likely to be denied the opportunity to make their voices heard. "That's very unfortunate and worrying."

The association of research universities, UNL, has also reacted to the cancellation. UNL president Caspar van den Berg writes on UNL's website: "This is an incredible bummer for the thousands of people who wanted to make their voices heard against the disastrous cuts to the education and science budgets. I fully understand the advice issued by the municipality, the public prosecutor's office and the police, as well as the organisers' decision. The safety of the protesters, our students and staff, is paramount. It is particularly sour that - as we understand it, a small group of people who do not shy away from violence - is taking an opportunity to demonstrate away from thousands of students and staff."

The protest group WOinActie will not travel to Utrecht tomorrow now that the unions have cancelled the demonstration. The group, comprised of higher education employees and students, finds it incomprehensible that the demonstration was cancelled because "an unknown group threatened to 'hijack' the protest and 'did not discard' the use of violence. It's impossible to hold any large-scale demonstrations this way." The group adds that "the right to protest is a fundamental right that cannot be treated lightly. Thousands of students and teachers were ready to protest the massive cuts to the higher education budget announced by the Schoof cabinet. We had reason to believe it would be the biggest demonstration in higher education ever."  WOinActie vows to continue protesting: "We will come up with a plan this evening."

Meanwhile, the socialist youth organisation Red posted in one of the WhatsApp groups that it will protest tomorrow anyway. "We will not be turned away by a mayor" as "we are fighting for our democratic rights."

Pro-Palestine groups
An article published yesterday by Trajectum, the news platform of the Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, asked organisers what they thought about pro-Palestine groups joining the demonstration. Trajectum referred to an Instagram post by Solidarity with Palestine Union, Workers for Palestine, Linksinhetnieuws and free.palestine.nl. The post reads: "Stop higher education cutbacks. Stop funding war and genocide." The organisers told Trajectum that pro-Palestine groups were welcome to join as long as the demonstration remained peaceful.