Police clear UCLA protest encampment in campus unrest over Gaza

AFP | Washington   

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

US President Joe Biden insisted yesterday that “order must prevail” on college campuses after weeks of turmoil, clashes with police and mass arrests involving student protests against Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

Earlier, police in riot gear moved in to start removing barricades around a protest encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles. CNN footage showed police removing some railings and wooden boards, with several protesters detained by officers.

Biden, who until now had remained tight-lipped on the student unrest, spoke just hours after hundreds of police moved in to forcibly clear a sprawling encampment at the University of California.

For weeks, authorities on campuses from New York to California have tried to thread the needle between the right to protest and complaints of violence and hate speech, resulting in hundreds of arrests and chaos as university terms end.

“We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent,” Biden, who has faced criticism from all sides of the political spectrum over the demonstrations, said in a televised statement from the White House. “But neither are we a lawless country.

We’re a civil society, and order must prevail,” he added.

Human barricade

Earlier, UCLA students clad in white helmets linked arms and formed a line facing off against officers, who were detaining protesters and leading them away.

Police used flashbangs to disperse the crowds gathered outside the encampment who chanted “Let them go!” as helicopters hovered overhead.

Officers blocked stairs accessing the site, with students dressed in yellow jackets and serving as medics telling AFP they were being largely prevented from reaching the area.