Police Evict ULB Student Occupation After Two-Week Standoff
(MENAFN) Police moved in Saturday to clear students who had held a building at the Free University of Brussels (ULB) since Oct. 22, bringing an end to a protest by university and secondary school students.
The operation targeted the P1 building on the Solbosch campus, a Belgian national news agency reported.
The occupiers, who included art school students, said their action was part of a wider European youth movement protesting worsening social conditions.
Annemie Schaus, the university’s rector, said most of the protesters had met an earlier ultimatum to leave by Thursday, but a number stayed behind.
“Fundamental boundaries have been crossed,” Schaus said, citing vandalism, unauthorized entry into offices and disruption of university activities.
Schaus also condemned hateful graffiti and explicit calls for violence that were allegedly discovered inside the building.
“After our attempts at negotiations failed, we initiated legal proceedings,” she said, adding that police intervened with judicial authorization.
The protesters confirmed the eviction on social media and claimed that several activists were arrested during the operation.
The occupiers had renamed the building after Aicha Aboubaia, a student from Gaza who reportedly had her Belgian visa denied.
The university said preparations are underway to secure and restore the building so academic activities can resume.
The operation targeted the P1 building on the Solbosch campus, a Belgian national news agency reported.
The occupiers, who included art school students, said their action was part of a wider European youth movement protesting worsening social conditions.
Annemie Schaus, the university’s rector, said most of the protesters had met an earlier ultimatum to leave by Thursday, but a number stayed behind.
“Fundamental boundaries have been crossed,” Schaus said, citing vandalism, unauthorized entry into offices and disruption of university activities.
Schaus also condemned hateful graffiti and explicit calls for violence that were allegedly discovered inside the building.
“After our attempts at negotiations failed, we initiated legal proceedings,” she said, adding that police intervened with judicial authorization.
The protesters confirmed the eviction on social media and claimed that several activists were arrested during the operation.
The occupiers had renamed the building after Aicha Aboubaia, a student from Gaza who reportedly had her Belgian visa denied.
The university said preparations are underway to secure and restore the building so academic activities can resume.
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