Cop negotiators on standby as students revolt

Police negotiators have been sent to a standoff between Australian National University staff and pro-Palestinian protesters, who are defying an “immediate and non-negotiable” ordered to disbane their protest camp.

Protesters at the Kambri Tent Encampment were woken up at 8am on Monday by more than 20 university security guards. Protest pages on Instagram issued multiple posts calling on supporters to rally at the encampment.

Amid simmering tensions, students have vowed to remain at the site. About 150 people have formed a human circle around Kambri lawn, with a makeshift barricade errected around the main tent.

As of 1pm, police negotiators remain on standby, and discussions between police and protestors remain ongoing.

An ACT police spokeperson said officers have remained onsite to “observe and monitor” the situation.

The vacate order was issued on Monday morning by ANU’s Facilities & Services Division director Jeremy Matthew via a letter to the protesters.

It said the group had to leave the area after a “disruptive fire evacuation” on May 21 raised “serious safety concern affecting the good order on campus and in that zone”.

While Kambri Lawn, where the encampment resides, is used as an evacuation site, the uni claims efforts to identify an alternative evacuation point failed, requiring the vacate order.

It’s understood authorities have asked protesters to relocate a few metres away from Kambri lawn, and onto a surrounding green area.

“The University’s Council has power over the entire control and management of the University,” the letter read.

“As such … under the delegated authority to maintain good order on campus, it is necessary to issue this order for the immediate removal of all tents and encampment structures.

He said the order includes the power to issue future “eviction notices” and “if necessary,” to order the Australian Federal Police (AFP), to “enforce compliance.”

However, students have voted to stay, despite threats they could be arrested.

“The police have come and told us we need to leave but we as a collective have decided to stay,” one student explains to the camera in a post shared by Instagram account @anu4palestinee.

“There are hundreds of people here… we will not be moved, we will be staying at Kambri.”

Previously, posts from the protester group accused ANU security of being “aggressive,” and “preventing legal observers and encampment members with personal belongings still in the camp from entering”.

However, the university maintains protesters need to be removed due to an “unacceptable safety risk”.

“ANU expects the remaining encampment participants will follow today’s direction,” the statement said.

“Failure to comply with this direction, issued to ensure safety and wellbeing, will result in disciplinary action.”

The statement also clarified that the vacate order was not a directive that prevented students from protesting.

“To be clear, as has been the case since the encampment commenced, we have not directed any of our students to stop protesting,” it read.

“They may continue to do so as long as it is respectful, peaceful and abides by our codes of conduct.”

More to come