This is a 7 minute film from the rally held in Melbourne on Saturday 14 July, as part of the International Day of Action in opposition to the government’s escalation of attacks on Indigenous communities and the denial of justice for Mulrunji and other Indigenous people who have been killed in police custody.
A statement from Black GST & Camp Sovereignty:
The Howard Settler Governments invasion of the Northern territory is land-grabbing racism nothing more. This invasion is part of the neo liberal structural adjustment programme of Intuitions such as the World, Bank, the IMF & APEC to diminish and extinguish Indigenous rights forever.
It is no surprise to see that the four countries that are blocking the passage of the Draft Declaration of indigenous rights through the United Nations, Australia, New Zealand, United States & Canada, they are the same four states that as part of APEC are raping the marine ocean environment in the Pacific, and are further oppressing & eroding the hard won rights of their Indigenous Nations & Peoples through out the world and within their own countries.
What is happening to our brothers and sisters in the NT, is part of that process, part of that genocide.
On the 14th July Indigenous peoples worldwide stand united in their opposition to these agenda’s, invasions and to the unending dispossession & disrespect shown to our peoples.
To my Brothers & Sisters of the Four winds, who replied to our call for Unity & Solidarity. United and strong, together we can defend what is ours for our generations to come. Deepest respect.
As the Indigenous Peoples of Australia, we weren’t afforded civil rights and as such we weren’t recognised and we’ve missed that process for the last two hundred years. I don’t think you can have any laws that are appropriate for Aboriginal people in this country until you have a treaty, which ends the war. Before you have a treaty you have to have an end to hostilities. Before those processes take place, you can’t talk about having a civil rights society.
One of our rights being breached is the right to consent. Aboriginal people haven’t consented. If you do things without consent, it’s considered rape. Now, a lot of crimes have been committed against Aboriginal people. There is a history of denial, which has gone on, and these crimes are continuing. They won’t take the fundamental steps towards establishing a civil society. They need to have a treaty; they need to end the war against the Aboriginal people. We know we’ve had a war here, but they can’t tell you what day it ended. That may be the national day this country could celebrate. Until they have that treaty with Aboriginal people we can’t talk about making laws for Aboriginal people or applying it to them. The treaty will give them that basis of law to do it.
They’ve had 200 years in isolation from the rest of the world to do exactly what they wanted to do. They’ve lied all the way – terra nullius – they’ve said they lied about that. They’ve admitted that they stole children: that’s article (e) of the Genocide Convention. They’ve had an inquiry into the deaths in custody, killing members of the group. They’ve caused mental stress on Aboriginal people – and everything that’s in the Genocide Convention, Australia’s breached. I can’t believe that it gets swept aside each time. It’s like you’re talking to a brick wall.
Well, the treaty gets written by our people, and signed by white-fellers. Our elders are to put it into place. Our people write the treaties, and the white-feller signs it because he’s on our land, and that’s the deal. We write it. We write it in aboriginal language, we write it in white-fella language, and we write it in Latin if you want it. We’ll get the interpretation deadly, because we’ll do it. We’ll interpret it; it’s our treaty. We’re allowing it to happen; it’s up to us to consent to this. You know what I mean? Otherwise they’ll remain the illegitimate bastard-child of England, Australia. That’s what they are.
“Today we are remembering our eldest elders, those who initiated the long struggle of resistance against the arrogance of Power and the violence of money. They, our ancestors, taught us that a people with pride are a people who do not surrender, who resist, who have dignity.” – from Our Word Is Our Weapon
Robbie Thorpe: Black GST & Camp Sovereignty
Robbie Thorpe: 0437 967 039
See this page about the Australian Government’s recent course of action against dozens of indigenous communities — and here about the recent acquittal of the Police Officer who caused the death of Mulrunji.
The Howard Settler Governments invasion of the Northern territory is land-grabbing racism nothing more. This invasion is part of the neo liberal structural adjustment programme of Intuitions such as the World, Bank, the IMF & APEC to diminish and extinguish Indigenous rights forever.
It is no surprise to see that the four countries that are blocking the passage of the Draft Declaration of indigenous rights through the United Nations, Australia, New Zealand, United States & Canada, they are the same four states that as part of APEC are raping the marine ocean environment in the Pacific, and are further oppressing & eroding the hard won rights of their Indigenous Nations & Peoples through out the world and within their own countries.
What is happening to our brothers and sisters in the NT, is part of that process, part of that genocide.
On the 14th July Indigenous peoples worldwide stand united in their opposition to these agenda’s, invasions and to the unending dispossession & disrespect shown to our peoples.
To my Brothers & Sisters of the Four winds, who replied to our call for Unity & Solidarity. United and strong, together we can defend what is ours for our generations to come. Deepest respect.
As the Indigenous Peoples of Australia, we weren’t afforded civil rights and as such we weren’t recognised and we’ve missed that process for the last two hundred years. I don’t think you can have any laws that are appropriate for Aboriginal people in this country until you have a treaty, which ends the war. Before you have a treaty you have to have an end to hostilities. Before those processes take place, you can’t talk about having a civil rights society.
One of our rights being breached is the right to consent. Aboriginal people haven’t consented. If you do things without consent, it’s considered rape. Now, a lot of crimes have been committed against Aboriginal people. There is a history of denial, which has gone on, and these crimes are continuing.
They won’t take the fundamental steps towards establishing a civil society. They need to have a treaty; they need to end the war against the Aboriginal people. We know we’ve had a war here, but they can’t tell you what day it ended. That may be the national day this country could celebrate.
Until they have that treaty with Aboriginal people we can’t talk about making laws for Aboriginal people or applying it to them. The treaty will give them that basis of law to do it.
They’ve had 200 years in isolation from the rest of the world to do exactly what they wanted to do. They’ve lied all the way – terra nullius – they’ve said they lied about that. They’ve admitted that they stole children: that’s article (e) of the Genocide Convention. They’ve had an inquiry into the deaths in custody, killing members of the group. They’ve caused mental stress on Aboriginal people – and everything that’s in the Genocide Convention, Australia’s breached. I can’t believe that it gets swept aside each time. It’s like you’re talking to a brick wall.
Well, the treaty gets written by our people, and signed by white-fellers. Our elders are to put it into place. Our people write the treaties, and the white-feller signs it because he’s on our land, and that’s the deal. We write it. We write it in aboriginal language, we write it in white-fella language, and we write it in Latin if you want it. We’ll get the interpretation deadly, because we’ll do it. We’ll interpret it; it’s our treaty. We’re allowing it to happen; it’s up to us to consent to this. You know what I mean? Otherwise they’ll remain the illegitimate bastard-child of England, Australia. That’s what they are.
“Today we are remembering our eldest elders, those who initiated the long struggle of resistance against the arrogance of Power and the violence of money. They, our ancestors, taught us that a people with pride are a people who do not surrender, who resist, who have dignity.” – from Our Word Is Our Weapon
Robbie Thorpe: Black GST & Camp Sovereignty
Robbie Thorpe: 0437 967 039
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