This is a personal account by Thomas Howell, a youth member of Amnesty International Australia. Our blogs feature contributions from staff, volunteers, and supporters to raise awareness and inspire action on human rights issues. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of Amnesty International.
On Wednesday, 11 September 2024, the biggest military weapons expo on the continent was launched. Men in suits packed into the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), to see the latest in weapons of war. In the heart of Melbourne, deals amounting to millions, if not billions, were made, as military forces and armament manufacturers shook bloody hands.
In a world with multiple ongoing conflicts, and a state of apartheid in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the last thing we want to see is the enrichment of those companies that make such destruction possible.
The Rally
The Victorian Government is a key sponsor of this military expo. As the rally began to be organised, the area around the MCEC was declared a “designated area” under the Terrorism (Community Protection) Act 2003. The hypocrisy of the state government in using anti-terrorist legislation to protect an exhibition of weapons of harm and destruction is clear. Furthermore, the Victorian Police appealed for an extra $10-15 million to surround the MCEC with over 2,000 police. This event was not just sponsored by the state, but subsidised by it. Is this really, as citizens and taxpayers, what we want our government to be focused on?
Worse still was the state’s response when protesters began to arrive. The rally began at 6:00, and the early hours saw protesters attempting to block a freeway and other entrances, and marches around the CBD streets to attract attention. At around 8:00, when I arrived, the rally ramped up. Two groups, Students for Palestine and Disrupt Wars, merged immediately outside the MCEC, on the south end of the Spencer St bridge. Before us was a barricade, guarded by police, riot police, and mounted police. Drones and helicopters filled the air with sound, and boats could be seen and heard in the water below.
At first, mounted police were pushing back the crowd from the barricade, but soon they retreated behind it. With a line in place, and well barricaded, that seemed to be about the end of the action. Suits could be seen in the distance walking from their hotels to the convention centre, on their way to buy and sell death.
With both sides facing off against each other, and neither going away, tensions soon began to ramp up. Multiple times, expo attendees (easily recognisable in their ties and lanyards) got lost and were caught up in the crowd, resulting in heckling and a few scuffles from protesters. Each time that happened, police in riot gear would jump the barricade, knock away protesters, making excessive use of OC (pepper) spray, and retreat back again. I witnessed one man be thrown to the ground, and a woman be shoved over.
This was a regular occurrence for perhaps half an hour, as chants continued (a favourite of mine: “get those animals off those horses”) and police glared.
Then came a marked shift in tone. It was clear that they were getting sick of us. More and more officers in riot gear emerged from reserve, taking up positions on either ends of the barricade.
From what I could see, though I couldn’t see everything, nothing had changed on the protesters’ side. No approaches had been made to break through. No one was behaving threateningly towards the police. They had simply had enough when they leapt over the barricade and charged us down.
In the ensuing scuffle, OC was sprayed indiscriminately, filling the air. I wasn’t hit directly, but still found myself coughing with irritated sinuses as I made space for the advancing line of police. Twice in immediate succession, bangs louder than I’ve ever heard before went off. Then again, a minute later. They were either shots (at least one protester and one journalist was wounded by rubber bullets, and two protesters required transportation to a hospital), flashbangs, or stun grenades. Protesters were pulled to the ground by their hair and beaten by batons, as shown by a video published by the Guardian.
At this point, several people had already been hurt by OC spray or direct police violence. They were on the ground being cared for by medics, and I didn’t see what happened to them when the police charged.
At first, officers stopped part way along the bridge, forming an impenetrable line.
This position was maintained for some time. A small band of protesters collected large wheeled skip bins, bringing them to the front and setting them alight with petrol. The same group began to throw eggs, cans, and other projectiles into police lines. Eventually, another police advance was made to overtake the burning bins and put them out.
At this point, protesters were fully off the bridge, and part of the group ventured back into the CBD to march. The remainder generally held their position for the rest of the morning, until early afternoon rains dispersed the rest.
As an eyewitness, I can maintain that the protesters were largely peaceful, but not totally so. While the advances from police along the bridge were completely unprovoked (bar perhaps the final one to put out the fires), some protesters went too far in harassing members of the public who they believed were expo attendees, and others unhelpfully threw objects at police, and attempted to push bins into police lines. However, from what I saw, no officer was ever endangered, nor member of the public.
A video was recorded of a clearly agitated police officer with a large gun, brandishing it threateningly at stationary protesters. He would raise it, lower it, and raise it again, licking his lips the whole time. All the while, the chant was going “Hands up, don’t shoot”.
Events like these display the effects of a lack of an explicit right to protest in Australia. While protest is an implied constitutional right, it is not protected by law. This grey area means that police can act with impunity without enough of a legal safeguard for protesters.
In response to recent protest restriction laws, Amnesty International Australia has launched a Right to Protest campaign.
In the wake of the protest, the streets were left empty, covered in pepper spray, detritus, and a sense of deep injustice. We, who had come out to protest the exhibition and sale of weapons of extreme violence, were met with violence ourselves. Violence with the express intent of perpetuating more violence. It would be hard to make a distinction between the machines of war inside the convention centre, and the men defending them outside.
This is a personal account by a youth member of Amnesty International Australia. Our blogs feature contributions from staff, volunteers, and supporters to raise awareness and inspire action on human rights issues. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of Amnesty International.
