Cape Town - Student protesters on Friday said they would remain occupying the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Bremner Building despite management’s notice to vacate.
“We will remain in Azania House [Bremner] until management has met our every demand,” said the Rhodes Must Fall movement.
Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price said on Friday that the remaining occupier group were to vacate Bremner at 2pm, a deadline which students have ignored. Price said an agreement was made between the University, the Student Representative Council (SRC), and the movement to end occupation as soon as the Cecil John Rhodes statue was removed. The statue was removed on Thursday and the SRC, according to Price, had honoured the agreement, whereas the movement had not. By 4pm the students remained occupying Bremner with no reaction from the University.
UCT Communications’ Pat Lucas said the University would not be issuing any further statements beyond Price’s notice.
The movement said they didn’t agree on leaving after the statue’s removal. They laid out demands to the University before occupation would end namely, providing the movement with a space to continue their work, written confirmation that no disciplinary action would be taken against any protesting students, and that the University not put any students under duress.
“We have, from day one, been a non-violent movement but we have been met with aggression. We have evidence that the University has employed police and protesters were assaulted by campus security,” claimed the movement.
ANA