Morning Star.png Buildings Burn, Campus Closed The Morning Star, London, 26 February 2016 South Africa's North West University's Mafikeng campus was closed yesterday after protesting students burned down several buildings. An administration block that included a science centre was burned down on Wednesday night, as was the residence of a dormitory supervisor. Student protests have erupted on college campuses across South Africa, pressing for lower tuition fees, more student accommodation and the elimination of statues and other artefacts representative of the country's racist past. The university was quiet yesterday as students still in accommodation were evacuated, leaving the university in North West province shut indefinitely. Violence started after a Students Representatives Council meeting was disrupted by protesters, said university spokesman Koos Degenaar. A suspended student leader was addressing supporters when private security tried to disperse the crowd using rubber bullets and tear gas. Students then pelted guards with stones and burned a vehicle belonging to the security company, before large police vehicles rolled onto the campus to restore order. Students retaliated by setting fire to campus property. The university had previously obtained a court interdict barring disruptions on campus, in the wake of ongoing student protests throughout the country. The Communist Party (SACP) condemned "in the strongest terms possible" the burning of the science centre and the administration building, noting that more money will be required to continue developing the campus. "Destruction of public property is not progressive. It is worse off especially in a developing democratic society that needs more resource capacity to meet its priorities," the SACP stressed. From: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-f2cc-South-Africa-Campus-closed-after-p rotesters-burn-buildings#.Vs_cj_l9600 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
