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15-Apr-2004

Aboriginal protest site victim of suspected arson

by: Alice Hunt

Canberra: Two tents were set alight at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, Australia, 10 April around 7.45 pm in what the police have called a deliberate burning.

Police are investigating the attack, which remains an open case, according to an article on the Australia Broadcasting Corporation Web site. No one was injured.

If the police confirm their suspicions, this would be the second firebombing at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in a year. The last occurred 14 June 2003.

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was first erected in 1972 to protest the land ruling that denied land rights or compensation to the Aboriginal people, and has been a physical reminder of the struggles between indigenous peoples and the Australian government.

In a statement from the International Peace Pilgrimage, who had visited the Tent Embassy just days before on 29 March, the embassy has “lost important documents and historical records,” as the fires destroyed the Embassy’s museum.

The statement said that the Embassy lies as “burnt scrap,” and that those who live on the site lost their homes. The peace pilgrims are asking for donations to help rebuild the site, and are urging the Australian government to prosecute those responsible for the fires to the fullest extent of anti-terrorist law.

Those involved with the Embassy hope to educate people on “how aboriginal sovereignty of this land was impeded upon by foreign invaders.”

For more information about the Aboriginal Tent Embassy and Aboriginal rights issues, send e-mail to: tentembassy@hotmail.com.