Who are the rioters in black?
They were nowhere to be seen during the peaceful walk-out. But once inside the REC-ABC building, despite the chaos, they were immediately visible: rioters dressed in black. Very much in a negative sense, they left their mark on Monday’s occupation. What do we know about them?
They proceeded energetically and purposefully. Some stormed up the stairs of the ABC building immediately upon entering, in the direction of the sixth floor to the UvA administration offices, as it turned out later. There they caused havoc, with barricades in front of the doors and graffiti on the windows and computers. Employees were able to leave just in time.
Others, in the loft, focused on toppling planters and barricading the main entrance. UvA political science student Zep van de Visse, one of the organisers of last week's demonstrations, ‘definitely’ recognised some of his fellow students among the people in black. Whether they also caused destruction, he does not know. Many of them are additionally in action groups, he says. ‘People who are in social sciences and sociology are often willing to do that. Because of the classes they get, they become active.’
The reason they were completely unrecognizable Monday afternoon, in defiance of UvA house rules (even their shoes were taped off), according to Van de Visse, is in case of a confrontation with the police. The vandalism at the Executive Board’s office could have been due to “anger” over the earlier actions of police officers, he believes, who were “allegedly ‘set’ on the students by the Executive Board.”
Two particular figures
In addition to this group of rioters, two other figures dressed in black – but without taped shoes – drew particular attention in the ABC building. Videos show them entering REC-ABC through the bicycle entrance and smashing the TV screens in the hall, as well as vandalizing the small canteen with, among other things, an axe handle.
Noah Pellikaan, president of the Central Student Council and actively involved in the demonstrations, does not believe they are UvA students. They look more like “thirty-somethings” to him. He also thinks they were not contributing to but distracting from what the protest was really about.
Meanwhile, speculation on social media about who these people are is rife. The UvA can only direct attention to the police, who say through a spokesperson that the investigation is still ongoing. However, one arrest has been made. Whether it was one of the people dressed in black (with or without taped shoes) is as yet unknown.
