Pro-Palestine encampment to end at Melbourne university
Pro-Palestine encampments at a Melbourne university will be packed up as protest organisers claim they have won a key concession.
Signage for University of Melbourne‘s Arts West building is seen with ‘Mahmoud Hall’ written on the sign outside of the building where Pro-Palestine demonstrators have taken over at the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Thursday, May 16, 2024
Students have occupied the University of Melbourne’s Arts West building in Parkville since May 15, prompting a backlash from administrators.
In a video uploaded to social media on Wednesday evening, a spokesperson from the Unimelb for Palestine group announced the end of encampments in the building and another on the South Lawn.
The group said the university had committed to disclose its partnerships with weapons manufacturers.
“We demand disclosure within one month and that an independent body of our choice oversees this process,” the spokesperson said.
“Disclosure will not be determined by the university alone.”
Organiser Deena El-Shabasei said the institution had given in their demand privately and they were awaiting written and public confirmation.
“The university gave us the promise of disclosure,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne on Thursday.
“So once we get disclosure … the encampment will wrap up, but the movement will not wrap up.”
In a statement, the university did not address whether it had agreed to disclosure.
“We welcome the willingness of the occupiers to leave the Arts West building and remove the encampment from our Parkville campus,” it said.
Vice-chancellor Duncan Maskell previously said the occupation had led to the cancellation or rescheduling of more than 600 classes, disrupting more than 16,800 students.
Students and staff contravening the order were threatened with academic sanctions including expulsion, and may be referred to police for trespassing.
Unimelb for Palestine urged University of Melbourne chancellor Jane Hansen to intervene to ensure the institution doesn’t penalise any participants in the encampments.
Pro-Palestine encampments have sprung up at university campuses across the nation after similar actions in the United States.
Encampments at Monash and La Trobe universities in Melbourne have been dismantled in recent days, with Deakin to end theirs on Thursday evening.
RMIT protesters are continuing their encampment as they prepare to rally, calling on the university to meet with them and disclose and divest from weapons manufacturers.
That university said it supported students’ right to exercise their freedom of speech and RMIT did not design, develop or manufacture weapons in the university or as part of any partnership.
The premier said the university encampments hadn’t changed her stance on rejecting a proposal for protest permits to be issued by police.
Pro-Palestine encampments have sprung up at university campuses across the country after similar actions in the United States.
AAP
