Pro-Palestinian protesters say ANU’s decision to rethink its link to arm companies with Israeli connections, does not go far enough
Students participating in a pro-Palestinian encampment at the Australian National University in Canberra, say the institutions decision to rethink its links to arms companies with Israeli connections does not go far enough. Yesterday’s announcement did not stop more than 100 people marching from Civic to the university, calling for immediate action on its investments.
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00:00 A sea of red, white and green marching from the city centre to the ANU, calling for the
00:09 university to sever ties with weapons companies connected with the Israeli military.
00:16 Yesterday the university agreed to re-examine its investment portfolio at its council meeting
00:22 in three weeks' time, hoping it would end a month-long student encampment on university
00:27 grounds.
00:28 But the ANU's Gaza Solidarity Group says that's inadequate.
00:32 All they have committed to do is in about a month's time potentially discuss the possibility
00:38 of changing their investment policy, which we think is very little movement, it's weak-willed
00:43 and it is not at all an answer to our demands.
00:47 So far the ANU has given 11 students a move on order because they believe to have been
00:52 staying in tents on campus.
00:54 The ANU Jewish Union is supportive of the encampment, though it does object to the behaviour
00:59 of some of the protesters and it wouldn't be drawn on the uni's investment policy.
01:04 We at all just don't want to see the encampment shut down.
01:07 We support free speech, we support the right to protest, but it really needs to happen
01:10 respectfully.
01:11 I'm not going to provide moral commentary on the ANU's investment decisions.
01:16 Liberation now, now, now, now.
01:19 While some universities across the country have reached agreements with those participating
01:23 in encampments like this, those here at the ANU say that a meeting in next June is simply
01:28 not enough and they won't stop campaigning until their demands are met in full.
01:33 It's a sentiment shared by many here.
01:35 It's particularly important for me as a Jewish person to show up to a solidarity event like
01:39 this to show that I am not in any way threatened by Palestinian liberation.
01:44 We had been speaking for 25 weeks or something before this encampment started, but this encampment
01:49 has had more effect and has produced more results than what we had been doing for a
01:53 long time.
01:54 An ACT policing spokesperson confirmed no arrests had been made.
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