New York: Pro-Palestinian protests that have rocked US campuses for weeks were more muted Friday after a series of clashes with police, mass arrests and a stern White House directive to restore order. Police in Manhattan cleared an encampment at New York University after sunrise, with video posted to social media by an official showing protesters exiting their tents and dispersing when ordered by loudspeaker.The scene appeared relatively calm compared to crackdowns at other campuses in the country.
University administrators, who have tried to balance the right to protest and complaints of violence and hate speech, have increasingly called on police to clear out the protesters ahead of year-end exams and graduation ceremonies – and some clashes with counter-protesters.
More than 2,000 arrests have been made in the past two weeks across the US, some during violent confrontations with police, giving rise to accusations of over-use of force. President Joe Biden gave his first expansive remarks on the protests Thursday, saying that “order must prevail”. “We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent. But neither are we a lawless country. We’re a civil society, and order must prevail,” Biden said.
His remarks came hours after police moved in on demonstrators at UCLA, which had seen a violent confrontation when counter-protesters attacked a fortified encampment there.
On the east coast, protesters at New Jersey’s Rutgers University agreed to take down their camp after reaching a compromise with administrators, similar to deal at other institutions, including Brown University. afp
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