↓Skip to main content
  1. News/

'More determined than ever.' Vandalism in office ASVA student union

Vandalism hits offices of student union ASVA, but the workers won't let themselves be intimidated.
Vandalism in the hall of the ASVA office in Amsterdam.

The office of the Amsterdam student union ASVA was broken into and vandalised in the early hours of Sunday 21 June. The windows of two doors and the counter of the student service desk were smashed. It appears to be a targeted action against the student union. Other offices in the CREA building on the Amsterdam Roeterseiland campus remained undamaged.

It is not yet clear who is behind the destruction at the union’s office, but according to ASVA chair Sahand Mozdbar, the execution points to deliberate intimidation. “Things had been damaged, archival documents thrown on the floor, and someone pissed against the wall.” As far as Mozdbar could see, nothing was stolen.

A damaged window in the ASVA office
Damaged interior window at the ASVA office

In a press release, ASVA places the incident in the context of recent vandalism against other student unions. It mentions that the student unions SRVU (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and AKKU (Nijmegen) were previously targeted with acts of destruction and vandalism. Currently it remains unclear though whether it will even become known who is behind this action. ASVA will file a police report together with the University of Amsterdam. However, attacks on labour unions must always be taken seriously. Not only do they have the potential to materially disrupt the organization of workers, but they can also signal that something more might be going on. In early 1933, trade union offices were one of the first targets of Hitler’s paramilitary squad, the so-called Brownshirts (Sturmabteilung, SA).

We’re mostly shocked, but will in no way let this disrupt us — Sahand Mozdbar, ASVA chair

Could a far-right group be responsible for the attack on ASVA? When asked, Mozdbar says he is not aware of an active far-right student movement at the University of Amsterdam. “But there’s one at the VU, although it’s currently a bit fragmented.” Far-right student associations are also active in other university cities. In Nijmegen, Leiden, and Utrecht, for example, there are branches of the Groot-Nederlandse Studentenvereniging (GNSV), an extreme right-wing organisation founded in 2021 that has close ties with the white supremacist group Geuzenbond. Right now there is no reason to believe that any of these organizations have anything to do with the vandalism carried out over the weekend in Amsterdam.

A damaged service desk in the ASVA office
Damaged service desk at the ASVA office

“We’re mostly shocked, but will in no way let this disrupt us”, Mozdbar emphasizes. “If this action was indeed committed in an attempt to intimidate us, then it’s completely backfired. To the contrary, ASVA is more determined than ever. We won’t be silenced by such cowardly acts. It’s a pathetic example of the increased repression and attempts at intimidation facing progressive voices.”

Techwerkers expresses its support for student union ASVA, and stands together in unity with all other labour unions and organisations within which workers collectively stand up for their interests.