Pro-Palestinian protesters abandon Monash University encampment
Pro-Palestinian protesters have abandoned their encampment at Monash University, but protesters are refusing to budge at University of Melbourne.
Victoria
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Monash University’s pro-Palestine encampment has been abandoned after more than two weeks.
A university spokesman said the institution was notified by encampment organisers on Friday afternoon the encampment would be packed up.
The encampment has been set up at the Clayton campus since May 1.
“All tents, banners and other remnants of the encampment have been removed by the encampment organisers with support from the University,” he said.
“We will continue to work with our student and community leaders, and with staff, to ensure safety and security on campus and, importantly, to meet the academic and pastoral needs of our staff and students during this time.
“We thank our campus community including Monash Security, as well as Victoria Police, for supporting operations at the Clayton campus and ensuring the safety of all.”
It’s not yet clear why the encampment was packed up.
Students for Palestine Monash have been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, there’s no sign of the protests ending at University of Melbourne, where protesters have been occupying the Arts West building at the Parkville campus.
A Students for Palestine Uni Melb spokeswoman said: “We will not leave until the University of Melbourne divest.”
“University administrators feel that they can intimidate us with threats,” she said.
“They feel that they can keep stonewalling us they feel that they can keep bringing us to the table without any intention to negotiate in good faith.
“Staff and students of the University of Melbourne will not take that as an answer. We will continue to sit here until the University of Melbourne takes our demands of disclose and divest.”
Protesters crash MP’s press conference
Victorian Liberal MP David Southwick has been confronted by pro-Palestinian protesters while visiting Jewish students at Melbourne University.
Mr Southwick was speaking to media about the concerns and fears Jewish students had about pro-Palestine protesters taking over a major university building when a mature-aged student gatecrashed the interview.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have occupied the Arts West Hall at Melbourne’s University’s Parkville campus for the past three days, impacting the classes of more than 8300 students.
“Ultimately no one should be taking over buildings,” Mr Southwick told reporters.
The gatecrasher, who said he was a former teacher who is studying at the university, butted in saying: “It’s my building, I’ll occupy it when I need to.”
Mr Southwick replied: “But you haven’t moved in have you. I think you’ve crossed the line and many others have crossed the line as well.
“A one-sided situation where you take over a building, shut it down, students don’t feel safe and they now need to be at home, their subjects and classes are cancelled. How far do you want to go?”
Mr Southwick then said he didn’t feel safe having a second masked pro-Palestine protester holding up a sign behind him which read: “The Nakba never ended the coloniser lied”.
“The fact I’m standing here right now and I have this guy with his face (with a) mask covered who effectively gatecrashed a press conference here against me, I don’t feel terribly safe,” he said.
The press conference ended shortly after the man holding up the sign accidentally hit a nearby woman with it in her face.
“There you go, that’s the kind of thing, a sign assault,” Mr Southwick said.
Premier ‘relieved’ police involved in campus protest
The University of Melbourne has warned the protesters occupying the building that it will send in police to break up their encampment because its “patience is now at an end”.
A number of pro-Palestinian protests are disrupting Victorian universities, including Monash and Deakin.
Premier Jacinta Allan weighed into the protest saga on Friday, saying she was “relieved” that police are involved.
Ms Allan said universities “can be a place of protest” but added “it absolutely must be done respectfully. it absolutely must be done safely”.
“And it absolutely can’t involve behaviour that is anti-Semitic,” she told Australian Jewish News.
“It can’t involve behaviour that makes students feel unwelcome to come onto campus and learn – to meet new people and enrich their minds with new ideas. And it can’t involve behaviour that makes Victorians feel unsafe.”
Protesters remained in the Melbourne University building on Friday afternoon as the sit-in entered its third day.
Students said the university had disabled elevators and student swipe cards that would usually allow access to the facility for arts students.
“They want us to protest without disruption, but what good does protest do if it doesn’t disrupt?” pro-Palestine student Alex Lightfoot said.
“The disruption to classes was caused by the university and the university alone. Students inside Mahmoud’s Hall continue to be respectful of anyone entering the building, including security, maintenance and cleaning staff.”
University of Melbourne deputy vice-chancellor Pip Nicholson will hold a meeting with pro-Palestine protesters at 2.30pm Friday to discuss the ongoing takeover of the building.
The protesters are then expected to hold a press conference at 3.30pm and a rally may take place at the Parkville campus Friday evening.
The Herald Sun confirmed with the university on Thursday night that it was closely working with police to remove the protesters.
On Friday it remained unclear if or when police would evict the students.
Pro-Palestine supporters appeared to make themselves at home inside the Arts West building on Friday morning, with several tents scattered across the ground floor.
Protesters have redubbed the building ‘Mahmoud’s Hall’ in honour of Mahmoud Al Haq, a young Palestinian man killed in the Israel-Gaza war who was meant to start his studies at the university.
A sign in the window of the hall requests media not approach students within.
There was only one door to access the building which was guarded by a pro-Palestine supporter who would push a green button to allow people both inside and outside the hall.
Media were briefly allowed to enter the building by a protester before they were quickly ushered out as it was a “breach of policy” for journalists to be in the building.
Students said they’ve received several warnings to evict the hall and have been “threatened” with breaching academic code of conduct if they’re found of any wrongdoing.
Some tents still remained on the South Lawn on Friday morning.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Michael Wesley said students had a right to protest at its Parkville campus, but it was not a “blank cheque”.
“They crossed a line when they occupied the Arts West building,” he said.
More than 6000 students had classes cancelled on Thursday over security concerns after dozens of protesters camped in tents on Wednesday night inside the faculty building, refusing to leave until the university met their demands.
The university has since put posters up around its Parkville campus, banning members of the public from attending protests on campus grounds.
Vice-Chancellor Wesley said the university respected and supported the right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.
However, the safety and security of students and staff using university premises must come first.
“University grounds may not be used for protest that is not peaceful; or protest by members of the public who are not students or staff members,” the notice said.
“Until further notice, any person, other than a university student or staff member, who engages or intends to engage in any protest activities is directed not to enter, access or otherwise be present in, university grounds.
“Any person who contravenes this direction will be trespassing on university grounds and may be referred to Victoria Police.”
Similar posters were plastered around Monash University’s Clayton campus on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Coalition, together with other non-government members and senators, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese calling for an urgent judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism at Australian university campuses.
Opposition education spokeswoman Senator Sarah Henderson said: “The failure of many university leaders to combat the alarming rise in anti-Semitism on campus, including encampments and other protest activity which are fuelling unprecedented levels of anti-Semitic hate and incitement, demands immediate and serious action.”
Protesters on Thursday night gathered at the front of Melbourne University’s Arts West building, chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine is almost free”, with speakers thanking their “comrades” for showing up.
At one point during the rally, a former student tore up and spat on her university degree to cheers from the crowd.
A Victoria Police spokesman said police were working closely with the university in response to ongoing protests.
“At this stage, Victoria Police has not been requested to intervene or remove any protesters.”
It comes as Deakin University is yet to say when it will remove the encampment at its Burwood campus, despite issuing organiser Jasmine Duff with a second letter to dismantle the tent city on a walkway.
Students at Monash University have been threatened with suspensions and expulsions if they ignore orders to stay away from the encampment, in what they’ve labelled as an “outrageous attack on freedom of speech”.
Originally published as Pro-Palestinian protesters abandon Monash University encampment
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