Melbourne: Pro-Palestinian protesters in Australia now target ports as pressure points to act, calling for solidarity with the dire citizens of Gaza. They are picketing ships that have alleged links to Israel, Al Jazeera reports.
Dozens of activists gathered at the Port of Melbourne on January 19 and attempted to stop the Portuguese container vessel ZIM Ganges from docking there. Police intervened and used pepper spray to disperse the protesters.
Some 200 police personnel acted at the scene and arrested dozens of protesters, who blocked access to the wharf and forced the Victorian International Container Terminal (VICT) to close operations.
Activists worked in shifts to block consecutive shifts of port workers. They stopped port workers from entering the terminal, thus blocking ZIM Ganges from docking. The container vessel stayed anchored in the bay and was only able to enter the port on January 21.
Many legal observers who were present, however, said that the protesters were not threatening but just chanting, Al Jazeera reports.
Meanwhile, Victoria Police said that they used pepper spray in response to the “dynamic nature” of the blockade, and there was the threat of aggressive protesters.
Though there were many arrests, those who remained were asked to continue disrupting the military-industrial complex through the use of “peaceful, people-powered, revolutionary tactics” by Declan Furber Gillick, a representative from the revolutionary group the Black People’s Union.
The blockade was planned and executed by a group called Unionists for Palestine (U4P). A broad coalition of Palestinians later joined the group, First Nations and antiwar groups.
VICT meanwhile told media that the 4-day blockade cost the port around 50,000 containers, which is millions of dollars.