Statement – Anti-war students, 7 May 2024
UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA SETS UP PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY ENCAMPMENT
Students at the University of Tasmania have this morning set up a solidarity encampment on the Sandy Bay campus lawn between the Morris Miller library and Lazenby’s, joining the global student movement which stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine.
The students are demanding that UTAS releases a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, divests from partnerships with Israeli institutions, demilitarises current and future funding arrangements, disclose funding and decision making information, and join the global academic boycott of any ties with Israeli universities.
According to the students, UTAS is just one of many Australian universities financially investing in military partnerships. Spokesperson, Miranda Bennett, says students will not leave until their demands are met and they are no longer forced to be complicit in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
“It’s not an outrageous ask that our educational institutions aren’t undertaking research partnerships with defence industries and weapons manufacturers – educational institutions are no place for supporting violence and war.
“This is not an issue located on the other side of the world; Australia’s multi-billion dollar investments in arms manufacturing industries are a stain on our conscience and UTAS is currently engaging in research contracts to develop military technologies for their financial gain. We know that these weapons and this research are used to inflict brutality on innocent people across the world in unconscionable wars and genocides like that happening in Palestine right now.
“We as students of UTAS refuse to stand by and be complicit as our students and their money are used to further the devastation being inflicted on Palestinians. Our university should not be complicit in genocide. We will continue peacefully protesting here to demand that the University of Tasmania’s to cut ties with Israel, and its unjust occupation of Palestine.”
Through research grants and partnerships with weapons manufacturers such as Lockheed Martin and Hensoldt (who have current contracts with the Israeli Defence Force), UTAS is complicit in this brutality.
It’s worth remembering that while Israeli institutions use international academic partnerships as a means of reinforcing their legitimacy, educational facilities across occupied Palestine are being systematically obliterated. Israa University in the Gaza Strip was reportedly occupied by the Israeli military for 70 days and used for “sniping isolated civilians in the areas of Rashid Street, Al-Mughraqa and Al-Zahra.” On January 17th, the university was then entirely destroyed by explosives in a controlled demolition.
According to UNICEF data, over 200 educational institutions have been bombed by the Israeli military since the beginning of the conflict. Weaponry developed in institutions of higher learning is being used to enact this brutal genocide. If our universities develop technology for militaries, they are complicit in the destruction of education and the traumatisation of students on a global scale.
The students say they will not leave until their demands are met and call for all Tasmanians, whether currently studying or not, to join them at the encampment.
