University of Sydney orders pro-Palestine encampment to pack up

The University of Sydney has ordered the pro-Palestine encampment protesters on its campus to vacate, looking to end the protest after almost two months.

Pro-Palestine encampment protest at the University of Sydney. Picture: Richard Dobson

The University of Sydney has ordered the pro-Palestine encampment protesters on its campus to vacate, looking to end the protest after almost two months. The university says the encampment was now impeding the university’s preparations for next semester.

“Since the encampment began, we have worked with the encampment representatives to keep the area clean and hygienic,” a university spokesperson said. “We have continually removed rubbish and broken items from the encampment site as needed, and today we have again begun removing broken items and unattended items.

“As there are also a number of tents which have been damaged and are not being used overnight, we have asked the owners of those tents to retrieve their property.

“Following the last rejection of our proposal we have also now instructed the encampment representatives that we require them to vacate the encampment to allow other students to use the space.”

Protesters on Friday shared images on social media of tags that the university had placed on tents and other belongings that read, “personal property unattended on university lands will be regarded as lost property and be removed by protective services staff”.

Protesters urged their followers to “get down to the quad lawns urgently to prevent (their removal)”. One social media account said they “won’t be moved until USyd divests from Israel”.

The university said that while it still supported a right to peaceful protest, the encampment had become a “significant and unacceptable disruption” to the university’s preparations for semester two.

“For some weeks we have tried to negotiate with encampment representatives to come to a peaceful resolution,” the spokesperson said.

“The front lawns are a shared space, and as we have said previously our shared spaces should be welcoming and inclusive to all members of our community. Since 24 April, the encampment has taken over this shared space to the exclusion of others.

“We have repeatedly stated since the encampment began that we support the right to peaceful protest, provided it does not cause significant disruption to core university operations. We consider preparations for semester two to be core university operations, and any activity that impedes our ability to prepare for them in the usual fashion constitutes a significant and unacceptable disruption.”

The pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Sydney was the first one pitched on an Australian campus following similar protests on US college campuses. A number of those encampments have since packed up following university demands.

The University of Sydney camp has drawn controversy in that time, including a “kids excursion” at which primary-school aged children performed chants of “intifada”, student protesters disrupting classes, and a proposed deal that invited protesters to review defence research ties.