A community assembly at Port Botany to聽target the operations of the Israeli ZIM shipping line on March 24 was violently broken up by NSW Police.聽聽
The assembly聽managed to delay the shift change, but just after 9.30pm, police started assaulting of more than 300 Palestinian activists and arrested 17聽peaceful protesters.
Among those arrested were Paul Keating, the Maritime Union Australia (MUA) Sydney branch secretary, Shane Reside, MUA organiser and other MUA delegates.
People were taken to Surry Hills Police Station, questioned and held in cells overnight.
The Port Botany action was called by (PJMS) and .
PJMS activist Ahmed Abdala said Australia must 鈥渋mmediately cut all ties 鈥斅爉ilitary, economic, diplomatic ties 鈥斅爓ith the state of Israel".
鈥淶IM is a direct apartheid enabler, so has no place anywhere in Australian ports.鈥
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Keating said his union stands with the people of Palestine and called on all union leaders to stand up and fight for the people of Palestine.
NSW Greens Senator Faruqi said it was criminal that Labor is 鈥渄oing nothing鈥 to stop the genocide and starvation. She accused Labor of 鈥渁iding and abetting Israel鈥, saying: 鈥淲e will not shy away from our democratic right to protest because we are on the right side of history鈥.
ZIM has a history of supplying the Israeli Defense Forces鈥 occupation of Palestine and it has made statements supporting the current genocide.
It runs commercial cargo operations across the world, including in major Australian ports.
The international 鈥渂lock the boat鈥 campaign targets weapons and commercial supply chains to Israel and is prioritising ZIM actions. Malaysia banned ZIM from docking in its ports last December.
The arrests in Port Botany followed arrests of three activists at the Gadigal/Sydney rally for Palestine on March 23.
A group of people, dressed in white, staged a peaceful 鈥渄ie-in鈥 as they were sprayed with red-coloured water.聽Police charged three people with 鈥渁ssault鈥 after drops of red dye unintentionally landed on them.
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Lydia Shelly, President of Civil Liberties Council, said the police were out of line. She said Legal Observers New South Wales had seen several police at the Port Botany protest 鈥渨earing a聽patch that is not part of the standard police issued uniform which has been associated with right wing extremism鈥.
She said the government and police must 鈥渨ork with the community and civil society鈥 to ensure that the right to protest is protected.
She also said the anti-protest laws needed to be repealed to allow people to be able to 鈥渆xercise their democratic right to engage in protest鈥.
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