{"id":175829,"date":"2025-02-10T14:46:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T13:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=175829"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:41","slug":"defence-minister-chased-off-campus-uva-to-file-police-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/02\/10\/defence-minister-chased-off-campus-uva-to-file-police-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Defence minister chased off campus, UvA to file police report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Defence minister Ruben Brekelmans was escorted offstage at the University of Amsterdam today for \u2018security reasons\u2019, as protesters disrupted his appearance by banging on windows and allegedly assaulting campus security. The university says it will report the incident to the police.<\/p>\n

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Protesters outside the hall at Room for Discussion.<\/span><\/p>

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As a guest on Room for Discussion, UvA\u2019s debate programme, Brekelmans (VVD) was supposed to answer questions from students, but protesters outside the venue made so much noise that he was barely audible. He was removed from the stage by security guards after 15 minutes, writes<\/a> university magazine Folia.<\/p>\n

In a statement on LinkedIn, UvA board president Edith Hooge calls<\/a> it a \u201clow point\u201d that a group of students and staff behaved in such a threatening manner that the interview with the minister had to be cut short. \u201cOpen and free debate has been sabotaged.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freedoms<\/h2>

As Brekelmans left the stage, the protesters cheered and chanted slogans like \u2018Free Palestine\u2019. The interview took place on Roeterseiland, a UvA campus that has been the scene of regular pro-Palestinian demonstrations over the past year.<\/p>\n

Responding to the incident on X, Brekelmans wrote that he had wanted to engage with students on the issue of international security. \u201cAt universities, we should be able to have an open exchange of ideas. The fact that this has been made impossible is highly regrettable, especially as these are the very freedoms that we protect at the Ministry of Defence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previous episodes of Room for Discussion, including one featuring<\/a> Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema, have also been disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters. An interview with Brekelmans\u2019 predecessor, Kajsa Ollongren, was postponed twice for security reasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Board president Edith Hooge is fed up. \u201cThis really needs to end\u201d, she writes on LinkedIn. \u201cAttendees were intimidated, our security guards were assaulted. This is unacceptable. Naturally, we will be filing a police report tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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