Pro-Palestine student activists call for closure of UQ’s Boeing’s research centre over Israel ties
Pro-Palestine student activists call for closure of the University of Queensland’s Boeing Research and Technology Australia Centre over the company’s ties to Israel, as they establish an encampment.
Pro-Palestinian student activists at the University of Queensland have called for the immediate closure of the on-campus Boeing-led Research Center and demanded the administration cut ties with Israel.
Hundreds of students gathered in the Great Court of the St Lucia campus in Brisbane beside the newly established encampment and marched to urge the university to cut ties with “war criminals”, labelling the presence of weapons manufacturers on campus as disgraceful.
Afternoon classes within the engineering building, where the Boeing Research and Technology Australia Centre (BRTAC) is located, were disrupted as the protesters descended, chanting “UQ, you can’t hide, you support genocide”.
Primary school-aged children were in attendance, chanting “free, free Palestine” over the megaphones.
Rally and encampment organiser Laura Nolan, 22, said the disruption to the learning of other students was a means to an end for the university’s administration to listen to their demands.
“It’s disgraceful that Boeing is allowed to have an institute, is allowed to set up shop with all their branding here on campus,” she said.
“It’s a disgrace … we don’t want any weapons manufacturers being able to recruit students to their industry.”
The Boeing Center was opened in 2017 with a team of 30 researches, who were initially studying unmanned aircraft and autonomous systems, aircraft simulator technologies, manufacturing technologies, and cabin disease transmission.
Ms Nolan, who is studying a Bachelor of Arts in linguistics, said students who are undertaking research with the multi-national company should seek other avenues for learning.
“There are other ways to explore careers in aviation,” she said.
“You can’t separate Boeing’s participation and complicity in what’s happening in Palestine out from the border company.”
University of Queensland Vice-Chancellor Deborah Terry said she supports students right to protest but noted that all partnerships go through a robust assessment process.
“The University also has robust processes for assessing and managing research partnerships that consider the ethical implications and their alignment with our core values,” Professor Terry said.
“I have written to staff and students today reminding them of our expectations that discourse is civil, ensuring our campuses remain respectful and inclusive places – where all members of our community are safe to engage in their studies, research, work or other activities, and access buildings and other facilities.
“In addition, the point that discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated at UQ has been made clear.”
Organisers also called for UQ to cease business aerospace and defence businesses BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman among others for their “direct and indirect ties to Israel”.
More than a dozen tents were erected for an “indefinite” encampment, with between 20 and 40 students expected to rotate through the camps. While organisers say the protest does not have authorisation from the university, they had been told by campus security that they would “not try to interfere”.
Unsuccessful Greens mayoral candidate Jonathan Sriranganathan and federal member for Ryan Elizabeth Watson-Brown attended the rally. Ms Nolan said organisers had approached the party for assistance, no funding had been provide.
The protest joins a movement of students globally demanding campuses cut ties with Israel-linked businesses, with similar encampments currently taking place at the University of Sydney and University of Melbourne.
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