At 3.30pm, Leipzig University took the decision to remove the protesters and called the police. The police operation is currently underway. “We will not tolerate any violent disruption of teaching or seizure of University premises. The safety of all students and teaching staff was at risk. The decision to remove the protesters was unavoidable,” said Rector Professor Eva Inés Obergfell. “Protests and demonstrations are in principle legitimate, as long as their aim is to inform and promote understanding. However, endangering bystanders and escalation are not acceptable forms of free and democratic debate.”
The University has filed a criminal complaint. Lectures in the Audimax are cancelled for the rest of the week.
Addendum (15 May 2024): In a statement to the Leipziger Volkszeitung and others, Rector Obergfell reiterated the following:
“Discourse can involve arguments, and protest can and may be loud, uncomfortable and disruptive. This is something we have to put up with, it’s part of it. Sometimes it even leads to a productive exchange, especially when people seek dialogue with us and there is also a direct link to University issues. When climate activists occupied the Audimax in December 2022, for example, we had a series of fruitful and respectful discussions – and this gave a further boost to the issue of sustainability. But one thing must be clear, and we reaffirmed this at the German Rectors’ Conference early this week: it goes without saying that universities do not operate in a legal vacuum. We will not tolerate our university being used as a stage for anti-constitutional or criminal acts, violence of any kind against property or people, discrimination, racism or anti-Semitism. When rights are violated, when violence is perpetrated, when fear spreads, then we must act decisively.”