Global | 2024.05.03 04:08
[뉴욕=뉴스핌]Reporter Kim Geun-cheol = US President Joe Biden said on the 2nd (local time) that although he respects freedom of assembly and expression, violent protests cannot be tolerated in response to the intense pro-Palestinian anti-war protests that have spread to the college. campuses across the country.
President Biden’s position statement came amid growing conflict over pro-Palestinian anti-war protests, with a large police force dispatched to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the west this day to disperse the protesting protesters. forcefully.
◆Biden: “There is freedom to protest, but not to cause chaos”… Dilemma between Israeli policy and young supporters
President Biden volunteered to hold a White House press conference on this day and made clear his opposition to anti-war protests in college towns becoming more extreme with violence, saying, “You have the right to protest freely, but you don’t have the right to cause disorder.”
“Destruction of property is not a peaceful protest, it is against the law, trespassing, breaking windows, closing campuses, forcing the cancellation of classes and peaceful graduations,” he said.
President Joe Biden announces his position regarding protests against the pro-Palestinian war in American universities. [사진=로이턴 뉴스핌]
President Biden added that the United States is not an authoritarian country that silences critics or suppresses dissent, but “order must exist.”
“Dissent is essential to democracy, but dissent must not deny the rights of others or create chaos, preventing students from completing their semester and college education,” he said.
In addition, he criticized President Biden, saying, “Whether it’s anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans, hate speech or violence of any kind should not happen in the United States,” and added, “Such behavior is un-American.” he did
Meanwhile, President Biden answered “no” to a question about whether he was willing to revisit his Middle East policy because of the protests at the university.
Also, when asked if he believed the National Guard should be used to stop protests and restore order on campus, he drew a line by saying, “No.”
Protesters holding sit-ins on university campuses across the US are demanding an immediate end to the war in Gaza, as well as an end to the Biden administration’s support for Israel and an end to investment by university institutions in affiliated companies .
◆“There are forces trying to profit from the protests”… a rebuttal to Trump’s political insult
On this day, President Biden called for a strong fight against university campus protesters and also aimed at former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, which criticizes the government’s incompetence.
“At times like this, there are always people trying to win politically,” he said “But now is not the time for politics.”
Former President Trump criticized Biden’s incompetent leadership in relation to the university protests at a rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin the day before.
He pointed out, “Biden is nowhere to be found and he’s not saying anything,” adding, “But even if he was, it wouldn’t matter.”
Trump also argued that the police should immediately disperse the protesters and that university authorities should also take stronger measures.
Previously, the Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, visited Columbia University on the 24th of last month and demanded that the president of the university resign, taking responsibility for the anti-Semitic protests.
Police enter the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and arrest protesters. [사진=로이터 뉴스핌]
In addition, Republican lawmakers are demanding that the National Guard be used if necessary to prevent pro-Palestinian sit-ins on campuses.
On the other hand, President Biden has taken a neutral stance and has not expressed a clear position. In response to this, the American media assessed that President Biden was faced with the dilemma of having to adhere to a policy of support for Israel while also considering the backlash of young progressive supporters who demand opposition to a war against Palestine.
However, as protests in college districts gradually become more extreme, social conflict worsens, and as political attacks by former President Trump and others intensify, President Biden is also seen as breaking his silence and issues a clear message of ‘opposition to violent protests.’
White House spokeswoman Carine Jean-Pierre also responded to the point that she made her position only after former President Trump’s criticism in a briefing on the same day, saying, “President Biden has constantly oppose violence,” and he emphasized, “He doesn’t need to. anyone to follow suit.”
◆Police dispatched to UCLA for forced suspension… spread to university campuses across the country
Los Angeles police authorities sent a large force to the UCLA campus early in the morning and demolished all the barricades and tents set up by demonstrators. During this process, approximately 130 protesting students were arrested.
On the UCLA campus, the day before, pro-Israel protesters tried to dismantle barricades of pro-Palestinian protesters, leading to physical confrontations between the two sides.
The Washington Post (WP) reported that the number of students arrested by the police at universities across the country after the sit-in protest at Columbia University has been more than 2,000.
kckim100@newspim.com
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