The Faculty of Science of the University of Porto cancels classes this morning due to student protest

The students who have occupied the premises of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Computers of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Porto since Thursday demobilized peacefully this Monday after the intervention of the PSP, a source in the rectorate of this educational institution said.

The intervention of the Public Security Police (PSP) at the request of the university, which required students to leave the premises by 8pm on Monday, began at 7am today, the same source told Lusa.

“About 30 students demobilized, and the camp outside was dismantled. The occupied building will now be inspected and cleared. At least in the morning there will be no conditions for classes to resume in this building. The rest are working as usual,” a source from the rector’s office of the University of Porto reported the same.

The Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto (FCUP) announced on Monday evening that there would be no classes this morning in the building occupied by students in protest against the continuation of relations between the academy and Israel.

In a statement issued at 12:05 a.m., management said that due to the “occupation of part of the premises” of the Department of Computer Science (DCC), that part of the building “will be closed in the morning” on Monday.

“Therefore, no academic activities, including classes or assessments, will be conducted inside the PK6 building until further instructions are given by the PKUP management. Till then, access to the building will not be allowed,” said a statement signed by the DCC director. , Alipio Jorge.

At the end of the fifth day of protests, there were approximately 25 students inside the college, namely in the corridors, staircases and at least one of the rooms, in a scenario that continued into the morning making it impossible to conduct classes. pass fine.

The seizure of the premises occurred after the arrival of five PSP agents to the building, called by the director of the college after the failure of the last meeting with the students in an attempt to reach an agreement on the part of the students on the division of the academy. with the State of Israel, and on the part of teachers to leave the gardens, where they have been protesting since Thursday.

Today at 00:00 about a hundred people were still concentrated in the FCUP garden in protest against the continuation of relations between the academy and the State of Israel.

The protest began on May 8, when about fifty students in front of the UP administration demanded a severance of relations between the academy and the state of Israel.

On Wednesday, students gathered in the Faculty of Fine Arts and decided to continue the protest in the Faculty of Science, where they set up camp tents to shelter for the night, surrounded by Palestinian flags, candles and banners with phrases such as: “Proletarian Solidarity for a Free Palestine” “Israel is not a democracy, Israel is a terrorist country” and “The revolution begins here.”

The action is part of an international student protest that began at North American universities and has already spread to higher education institutions in several European cities, Canada, Mexico and even Australia, demanding an end to the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip was sparked by an attack on Israeli soil by the Islamist group Hamas on October 7, 2023, which killed approximately 1,200 people and captured two hundred hostages, according to Israeli authorities.

In response, Israel launched a large-scale military offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has already killed more than 35,000 people, mostly civilians, according to local Hamas-controlled authorities, leaving the enclave in a severe humanitarian crisis.