Students At University Of Auckland Reject The Presence Of NZDF On Campus

Students at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland have organised a rally calling on our peers, staff members and the university administration to reject the presence of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) from university events. They were scheduled to attend the Graduate and Internship Expo 2024 on the 23rd July but recently pulled out in response to pressure. We demand the University rescind any future invitations to NZDF on campus too.

The NZDF trains alongside the Israeli Defence Forces in US-led ‘Rim of the Pacific’ military warfare training exercises. Israel has destroyed every university in Gaza, yet the New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) has yet to condemn them. The NZDF has shown time and time again that it supports genocide, Western hegemony and the status quo. It’s engaged in military intimidation with the US and UK against Yemen for supporting Palestine. The NZDF’s participation in all of this shows their commitment to military violence, the genocide in Gaza, the militarisation of the Pacific, and the ecological destruction these exercises create.

The NZDF have only recently decided to withdraw from the University of Auckland's CDES Expo. As late as Friday 19th July, the NZDF had been advertised alongside other organisations in emails about the CDES Expo sent to students. No doubt increased scrutiny from the start of our social media announcements for our rally on Thursday 18th July played a factor in their withdrawal decision from the CDES Expo.

As members of the international academic community, we have a duty to act in solidarity with Palestinian and Pacific students and academics by demanding the demilitarisation of our campus. As such, we are taking action today to demand the University to never invite the NZDF to the CDES expo again.

Join us in disrupting the killing machine. Show the University of Auckland that we oppose the militarisation of our campus. Show them we reject business as usual during a genocide.

From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.

© Scoop Media