Confrontation defused as ANU protesters move pro-Palestinian camp

Australian students and authorities have again avoided confrontation over the Israel-Gaza conflict, after protesters complied with an ultimatum to move their camp site.

On 27 May, the Australian National University (ANU) directed the “small number of remaining participants” to vacate the encampment in the university’s Kambri precinct, saying it was needed for emergency evacuations. Administrators had found an alternative assembly area during the protests, but it had “failed” when a fire alarm forced the evacuation of a nearby residential hall.  

ANU threatened disciplinary action against students who refused to comply. Protesters had already rebuffed a demand to vacate by 17 May.

The protesters again snubbed the instruction, instead summoning academics, unionists and other supporters to a rally on the campus. Police subsequently directed the protesters to relocate to another grassed area by midday on 28 May or face “further action”.

In a statement reported by the ABC, the protesters said they had now “demonstrated our willingness to cooperate” and it was time for the ANU to reciprocate. “Our goal is for the ANU to disclose and divest. No location change, no intimidation tactic and no threat will change that,” they said.

The protesters want the university to abandon partnerships with Israeli institutions and weapons companies including BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. They say ANU has invested around A$500,000 (£260,000) in these companies, “directly funding and profiting from Israeli genocide and war crimes”.

ANU said it had provided options for the protests to continue. “Students have always had the right to protest so long as they do so in ways that are safe, are appropriate for our campus and which adhere to Australian law and our codes of conduct,” a spokesman said.

In an email to staff and students, ANU deputy vice-chancellor Grady Venville said the university leadership had invited protestors to “genuine and open dialogue” about their demands. “So far, they have not taken up this invitation. The offer still stands.”

The Australian Capital Territory branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) said the university had issued its demand on Reconciliation Day, a public holiday in Canberra, following attempts to close the camp over its “smell” and damage to the lawn.

“It is difficult to see ANU’s actions as anything but another pretext to shut down a peaceful protest on campus,” the NTEU said. “We call on ANU to engage with demands to disclose and divest, rather than setting cops on to students.”

Meanwhile, the Liberal-National party coalition has vowed to cancel the visas of international students “found to be involved in spreading antisemitism or supporting terrorism” if it regains government.

Shadow education minister Sarah Henderson said she and her colleagues would “do whatever is necessary” to shut down an “alarming rise” of antisemitism on campuses. “The coalition is ready and willing to take the tough action required to combat this tide of antisemitic hatred and intimidation in all its forms,” she said.

Writing in The Conversation, Griffith University philosopher Hugh Breakey says the Israel-Palestine dispute has become “no longer just a conflict, but a conflict about the conflict”.

“Both sides [are] wielding uncompromising language, concepts and methods against each other,” writes Dr Breakey, deputy director of Griffith’s Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law. “Both sides can plausibly claim they are the persecuted minority.

“There are no easy answers here. In a multicultural and pluralistic country, we can’t prevent others having different views, and we can’t shy away from the sharp disagreements those differences will create.”

john.ross@timeshighereducation.com