Hundreds of pro-Palestine demonstrators outside the University of Lausanne
Published: Saturday, May 4th 2024, 19:02
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Several hundred people flocked to the grounds of the University of Lausanne on Saturday to support students who are committed to the Palestinian cause. General assemblies, workshops, yoga, music and discussions characterized the day.
Since Thursday, the entrance hall of the Géopolis building has been occupied by a group of students demanding a boycott of Israeli academic institutions and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. They have been given the right to stay until late Monday afternoon, when another meeting with the Rectorate will take place.
On the university campus, Palestinian flags and various banners drew attention to the occupation of the site and reminded people of the students' demands. The highlight of the day was a rally that attracted around 400 people to the campus.
Solidarity from professors
"Gaza, UNIL is with you" and "Down with Israeli apartheid" were chanted by the participants between their speeches. Joseph Daher, visiting professor at the University of Lausanne (UNIL), later gave a lecture. He welcomed the mobilization of the students who "are outraged by something that is unacceptable, a genocide," he said.
A second professor, sociology lecturer Olivier Fillieule, supported the action and recalled that "the aim of teachers is to turn students into citizens". He called for "complete transparency" on the part of the university regarding its cooperation with Israeli institutions, a demand that will be taken up in a letter to the management that the UNIL staff will be asked to sign.
The lecturer welcomed the position of the Rectorate, which had shown a willingness to engage in dialog "at least for the moment", in contrast to EPFL. The latter threatened to suspend the Polyquity association because of a conference that was classified as "partisan". Several speakers called on the university to reconsider its position. to spend a third night on the site.
©Keystone/SDA
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