The ACT Greens have today defended the right to peaceful protest and called on the Australian National University to meet the demands of the Palestine encampment, including to disclose and divest from all investments complicit in the genocide of Palestinians.
"Grassroots democracy and peace and non-violence are amongst the core values of the Greens, so we support the right of students to engage in these peaceful protests, themselves calling for peace," said Shane Rattenbury, leader of the ACT Greens.
"The ANU is seeking to break up the protest, instead of engaging with the protesters' demands for their university to be transparent about its investments and divest from any that are perpetuating violence.
"No student should be penalised for exercising their right to engage in peaceful protest. We call on the ANU to protect the rights of their students and to revoke the threat of disciplinary action."
The encampment has been supported by the ANU branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), with human rights groups Amnesty International Australia and the Human Rights Law Centre also asking the university to respect the right to public assembly.
"These protests have seen a diversity of people, including many Palestinians and Jewish people, come together to demand action for peace. The Jewish Council of Australia strongly rejected claims that these protests are a threat to Jewish students and staff," said Andrew Braddock, Greens spokesperson for multiculturalism and anti-racism.
Mr Braddock, other Greens MLAs, members and supporters, have visited the encampment and attended rallies there over recent weeks.
"The Greens will proudly continue to support an immediate ceasefire, sanctions on the Apartheid State of Israel and a lasting peace for all people across Palestine-Israel," Mr Braddock said.
