It is 13:05 on a Thursday during exam period in Wijnhaven. People having lunch, students preparing for, and some currently writing, exams. Almost all study spots are occupied, even the Spanish stairs are looking full, perhaps more so than normal. On the third floor a disproportionate amount of students are standing, backpack on their shoulders and dressed in all black. Suddenly a loud screeching sound goes off; it could be mistaken for the first tone of a fire alarm but ends after just one. As a voice sounds out that a sit-in is about to take place on the stairs between the second and third floor it becomes clear that the sound was coming from a megaphone and not the fire alarm. This was the initial confusing minute of what became a 6,5 hour long occupation at campus Wiijnhaven in The Hague.
The sit-in on the stairs gathered a large group, in total a few hundred counting both prepared and spontaneous protesters, and onlookers. All protesters are also students from the university. The group was chanting a number of more or less rhyming chants (apart from free Palestine) like: Boycott, divest, we will not stop we will not rest or Viva viva Palestina and oink oink piggy piggy we will make your life shitty. Every now and then a shorter speech was held, followed by a round of applause. Cheering also erupted as flags were hung from the third floor balconies facing the terrace. The terrace itself together with the wing of the third floor which accesses the balcony was the only properly occupied areas of campus as all doors to the terrace had been sealed with bike locks and on the third floor the doors were closed and blocked by a human chain. In an hour the stairs were cleared again and the chanting crowd moved up to the third floor. Shortly before 14:30 it was decided that no one was allowed into the building and that anyone who left the building would not be allowed back in. All classes for the rest of the day were also cancelled.
In the afternoon negotiations were held between representatives for the organisers of the protest, the university and the police. The result was a promise from the university to create a committee to examine the university’s ties with Israeli universities. However, on the university website it says that LU does not equate individuals with their institutions or universities with their country’s government.
As Wijnhaven got emptier and fell almost silent after both protesters and staff had asked people to leave the building, the hustle outside of Wijnhaven increased. A large group of people were protesting in front of the main entrance and also under the terrace. At one point the emergency door next to the main entrance stopped being used for people leaving the building and instead students and staff left the building accompanied by staff through a back door. Just a couple decimeters from said back door a police vehicle with two helmet-wearing police-men was parked. Police and riot police were present around the whole building and also further down Turfmarkt by the library and city hall.
At 19:30 the last of the protesters left after being told that police would have ousted them otherwise. Inside Wijnhaven everything remained peaceful and all protesters left the building using the back entrance, dispersing among the students who had created a human chain in front of said entrance. The police allowed their passage and, once reunited with the other students, they all joined the march towards Den Haag Centraal, where the protest ended. None of the protesting students were arrested, even though there are accounts of police using violence against a couple of people protesting outside of Wijnhaven. Already the day after, Friday 17 May, an occupation was attempted in Leiden. This one was outdoors, smaller in numbers, and also lasted only a few hours. Even before the attempted Leiden occupation was in progress the stickers on Wijnhaven’s facade and the writings on the windows inside were all removed. Ready to welcome back anyone who can show an LU card at the door.
-Martina
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Images: Yamal van Oordt
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