Big protest in Utrecht despite ‘ban’

Around three thousand students and staff did come to Utrecht to protest against the cutbacks in education and research. And against Israel, a little bit.

The atmosphere is positive. The students have put up a stage in a little park close to Utrecht Centraal railway station. More and more students join the demonstration, but young researchers and older lecturers are present as well.

A Hungarian postdoc is also participating. In his own country, freedom has been severely curbed and Hungarian leader Orban is an example for Wilders. “It happened one step at a time”, he says, “and it can happen here as well.”

Others also seem worried about this. All kinds of familiar slogans fill the air (“Fight fight fight, education is a right!”), but something is added this time: the right to protest. “This is what democracy looks like!” is called out, and also: “The people united will never be defeated!”

No understanding

No one here understands the unions’ decision to cancel the demonstration in Utrecht because of possible violence by pro-Palestinian protesters. Who’s actually displaying the violence, they wonder. Isn’t it rather the police who break up demonstrations, as well as Israel itself? “Free, free Palestine!” is called out. Others hold up protest signs with texts like ‘No bombs but books’.

At the very least, the unions should have forced the mayor to take a decision, they believe. Let her issue the ban. The unions themselves shouldn’t collaborate on “anti-democratic tactics”. Someone from the FNV member parliament makes a full-blown apology on stage.

Class struggle

Cutting back on education and spending billons on the army? It’s met with bemusement here. The communist youth movement, who have also joined, think the government only sides with capital. “Student struggle is class struggle!”

Chair of the Dutch Student Union Abdelkader Karbache stands in the crowd. The rioters the municipality was afraid of? “Those didn’t come from the academic community”, he says. “And now it’s safe enough all of a sudden, apparently.”

Then, Karbache takes the stage. He’s proud of everyone who did make it today, he says. Preposterous that it was cancelled due to the threat of violence. “That would mean you can never protest again and we won’t put up with that.” To change something, you need the student unions, he says. “If you want to get anything done in the Netherlands, join a bloody student union!” He gets a big applause.

March

The crowd gets moving for a march through Utrecht. It’s a peaceful one. And a slow one. At first, the procession barely moves at all. The protesters walk around the city centre, past the Dom, and then they’ll end up back in the park. The first protesters call it a day, but many keep on chanting as if they just got here.