Police arrest dozens of protesters at Columbia University

by Jonathan Allen and Brendan O’Brien

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York police cleared out pro-Palestinian protesters occupying the Columbia University campus late Tuesday evening, making dozens of arrests.

Shortly after the police intervention, the president of the university, Nemat Minouche Shafik, released a letter in which she asked the police to remain on campus until May 17 “in order to maintain order and ‘ensure that the camps are not set up again.’

A police spokesperson said the protesters were cleared from campus within three hours, adding that “dozens” of people had been arrested.

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Images broadcast live on television at the start of the operation showed police officers entering the prestigious New York university, the epicenter of the student protest movement organized in the United States against the war in Gaza.

“We’re clearing the place,” police officers shouted before entering Hamilton Hall, a building located on campus occupied by demonstrators.

Dozens of people were escorted to a bus with their hands tied behind their backs.

“Liberate, liberate, liberate Palestine,” protesters chanted outside the building. Others shouted: “Let the students go.”

REQUESTS FROM PROTESTERS

The protesters sought to have three of their grievances met by the university: divestment of Columbia’s assets supporting the Israeli military, transparency over the university’s finances, and amnesty for students and staff members sanctioned for their participation in the protest.

Nemat Minouche Shafik said Monday that the university would not sell assets supporting the Israeli army. She proposed investing in health and education in the Gaza Strip, as well as making Columbia’s investments more transparent.

The president of the university indicated in her letter released Tuesday evening that the people who occupied Hamilton Hall had committed acts of vandalism and that they and the people who set up camps on the campus had illegally entered the grounds of the university. ‘university.

The university had warned earlier in the day that students who occupied Hamilton Hall could be excluded.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and police officials said at a press conference Tuesday evening that based on the tactics used, the occupation of Hamilton Hall was self-initiated. “external agitators” at the university.

Eric Adams suggested that some of the students were not fully aware that “outside actors” were within their ranks.

“We cannot and will not allow what should be a peaceful gathering to become a meaningless violent spectacle. We cannot wait until the situation becomes even more serious. It must stop now,” he said. he said.

One of the leaders of the student protest movement at Columbia University, Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian academic who attends the School of International and Public Affairs, refuted claims that the occupation was decided by initiative of people outside the university.

(With contributions from Rich McKay, Steve Gorman and Daniel Trotta; French version Camille Raynaud)