O President of the United States, Joe Biden, broke his silence this Thursday, defending the right to protest, but insisting that “order must prevail”, at a time when university campuses across the country are facing disturbances due to protests against the war in Gaza.
Trying to draw a line between peaceful protests and violent demonstrations, Biden acknowledged that protesters have the right to try to have their voices heard, but criticized the cases of invasion and vandalism that have occurred.
“Dissent is essential to democracy. But dissent should never lead to disorder,” said Biden, at a press conference at the White House, cited by the Associated Press.
He continued: “Violent protests are not protected. Peaceful protests are. It is against the law when violence occurs. Destroying property is not a peaceful protest, it is against the law. Violence, trespassing, breaking windows, closing campus, forcing cancellation of classes– none of this is a peaceful protest.”
Biden also clarified that he did not support calls to send the National Guard to the states and that the protests did not lead him to reconsider his approach to the war.
Tensions have been rising for days as protesters refuse to remove encampments from college campuses across the US and administrators turn to police to forcibly clear them, leading to clashes that have attracted political and media attention. of social communication.
At a time when several Republican congressmen criticized Biden’s silence on the issue, the President recalled that he does not want to use the clashes at universities as part of next November’s presidential elections. “This is not a time for politics, it’s a time for clarity,” Biden clarified.
Biden’s last public comment on the topic was more than a week ago, when he condemned “anti-Semitic protests” and “those who do not understand what is happening to the Palestinians.”
Biden will visit a university campus on May 19, when he is scheduled to give his commencement address at Morehouse University in Atlanta.
[Notícia atualizada às 20h55]
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2552480/ordem-deve-prevalecer-biden-quebra-silencio-sobre-protestos-em-campus
