Two students have been arrested at a pro-Palestine rally on the Parramatta South campus of Western Sydney University for allegedly assaulting campus security.
There were an estimated 50 protesters in attendance when, at around 11:20 AM, police approached the crowd to make the first arrest.
Footage of one of the arrests uploaded to the WSU 4 Palestine Instagram page shows six officers apprehending a single protester wearing a red keffiyeh. The protester was carried out of the building as a further two armed officers out of uniform told onlookers outside the building to stay back. Students are heard in the footage saying: “they are tackling a student,” while asking the plainclothes officers: “aren’t you going to do anything?” In the footage, five police officers can be seen carrying a student out of the building, one forcefully grabbing them by the hair.
Professor Alana Lentin, an academic at Western Sydney University specialising in cultural and social analysis, is also recorded as she repeatedly tells officers “leave my students alone”.
When an officer orders Lentin and the protestors to vacate the building, stating “[failure] to comply means you’re committing an offence,” Lentin responds by stating “this is my place of work” and “this is a public building.”
This afternoon, officers from the Ryde Police Area Command released the following statement: “[At] about 11.20am, two protesters were arrested after allegedly assaulting campus security. As police were arresting the pair, one allegedly assaulted and resisted police.”
Both students, a male aged 24 and a male aged 21, have been taken to Gladesville Police Station.
At 2pm the group were approached by WSU provost Kevin Dunn, director of the University’s Challenging Racism Project. In a video uploaded to Lentin’s instagram page, Dunn states: “students are welcome to express their views” but that the University “must draw the line on anything that’s violent, threatening, or aggressive.”
“Unfortunately today it went over the line a bit, but I think we’ve learned some lessons so we’ll try and make sure we’re better organised next time for when you want to express yourselves again.”
Lentin is recorded off-camera, stating: “I was there Kevin, and when the students came in the building, the security of the university were pushing and shoving students left and right… if there’s any question of assault, then I think we have to look at what security was doing” Lentin’s wrist was allegedly hurt by campus security after she was “slammed up against a wall.” The professor is seeking a medical report for the injury.
Before arrests were made, Police allegedly attempted to confiscate a banner that was hung outside Building EB, reading “Haniyeh’s Building”.
When asked about the incident, a WSU spokesperson told Honi:
“Western Sydney University is aware of an incident at our Parramatta South campus earlier today during a rally.
We are committed to free speech, and respectful and civil debate. Our priority is always the safety, wellbeing and security of every single person across our university community.”
