Around 200 aboriginal protesters trap Australian PM
Canberra (Australia) - About 200 aboriginal protesters trapped Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Abbott, where they were attending the inaugural national emergency medals ceremony, before police arrived to clear a passage for the pair. The National Emergency honors – presented as the country marked Australia Day – were introduced to recognize those who served their communities during events such as the 2009 bush fires in Victoria and the floods in Queensland in 2010 and 2011.
- Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is bundled out of a restaurant by security service agents after it was surrounded by furious Aboriginal rights protesters in Canberra on January 26, 2012. Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott were stranded in The Lobby restaurant as dozens of demonstrators from a protest against Australia Day, which marks the arrival of British settlers in 1788, converged on the hotel. Photograph by: Lukas Coch, AFP/Getty Images
The protesters, from the nearby Aboriginal tent embassy, banged on the three glass walls of The Lobby restaurant chanting “shame” and “racist”. Aboriginal people had taken offence at comments by Abbott about their tent embassy, marking its 40th anniversary tomorrow.
Questioned about the relevance of a makeshift Aboriginal tent embassy on the lawns of Federal Parliament in a TV interview Abbott said: “I think a lot has changed for the better since then…I think the indigenous people of Australia can be very proud of the respect in which they are held by every Australian I think it probably is time to move on from that.”
Abbot was referring to the government plans to recognize indigenous people in the country’s constitution. The tent embassy was established in 1972 by four men as a protest against the then prime minister’s refusal to acknowledge indigenous land rights. Thousands of indigenous Australians have travelled to Canberra for a three-day “Corroboree for Sovereignty” to mark the Invasion Day, also known as Australia Day, to mark the arrival of the first fleet of British colonists in Sydney on Jan. 26, 1788.
About 50 police, including the riot squad, were called to The Lobby shortly after 2.30pm to escort Gillard and Abbott. Gillard and Abbott were reportedly forced to wait 20 minutes before police escorted them through a side door. Chaos ensued as a bodyguard grabbed Gillard by the shoulders and shoved her into a waiting car, local media reported.
The prime minister appeared to have stumbled in the process and lost a shoe. Protesters continued to bang on the car’s roof and the bonnet as it sped off. The protesters later collected the shoe and proclaimed it as a trophy.
Aboriginal activists accused Abbott of inciting racial riots and demanded an apology.
One of the founders of the embassy, Michael Anderson, said Abbott’s comments were disrespectful.
Fred Hooper, an Aboriginal community leader, who was at the protest said the event had been peaceful until Abbott made his remarks.
“The opposition leader on national television made a comment to tear down something that have built over 40 years, which is sacred to us,” he said.
Gillard, who later hosted a function for ambassadors from various countries at The Lodge, expressed to being upset that the protesters had disrupted the awards ceremony.
“Oh I’m fine. I’m fine. The only thing that really kind of angers me about it is that it disrupted such a wonderful event for great people, emergency services medals, just amazing people,” she said.
