BY ZANNY BEGG
SYDNEY — A determined Aboriginal community would not be deterred by Olympics organisers' boast that "not one black toe would cross the Homebush Bay line", the Indigenous Social Justice Association's Ray Jackson told a packed public meeting here on August 2.
More than 100 people crowded into the Newtown Neighbourhood Centre to participate in a lively forum, "Indigenous protest and the Olympics", which attracted five film crews and a wide range of people involved in organising protest actions at the time of the Olympic Games.
The forum, sponsored by Green Left Weekly, was addressed by Jackson, Laura-Lee Stewart from the Indigenous Students Network (ISN), Kim Bullimore from the Democratic Socialist Party and the ISN, and Isobel Coe from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. Many issues confronting indigenous Australians were addressed, but the crux of the discussion was about what form protests should take during the opening ceremony on September 15.
Jackson told the meeting that the games' organising committee, SOCOG, is desperate to keep Aboriginal protesters away from the Olympics stadium. It has specifically hired Pacific Islander and Maori security firms to ensure that the media will be presented with images of "blacks belting the shit out of blacks" if there were scuffles outside Homebush Bay, he said.
Jackson argued that a march on Homebush Bay should be the central focus of protests, but conceded that permission for such an action had not yet been granted from the traditional owners of the land, the Dharug people.
Coe, one of the founders of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, gave an entertaining history of the embassy and its role. The Tent Embassy is "for all indigenous people", she said, and had travelled across Australia spreading seeds of opposition to oppression. The ashes from the original Tent Embassy fire, which was established 28 years ago in Canberra, have been bought to Victoria Park here to light a fire which will form a symbolic organising point for Olympics-focussed protests.
Coe rejected the idea that the protest needed permission to march to Homebush Bay. She explained that permission was granted through struggle, saying "all who work in the spirit of the Tent Embassy have permission to walk the land". Coe made a direct appeal to all, both white and black, to support and involve themselves in the Tent Embassy and the fight for justice for indigenous Australians.
Bullimore and Stewart explained how the ISN has involved young indigenous people and students in the struggle. Stewart spoke of the ISN's support for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, which will include a "Sleep-out for Sovereignty" on August 18-20, and its plan to walk from Lucas Heights into central Sydney with Kevin Buzzacott and his Arabunna people. The Arabunna are staging a long walk for justice from their country at Lake Eyre to Sydney.
Bullimore emphasised the need for massive support for a demonstration on September 15 which, she said, should build on the solidarity expressed by the hundreds of thousands who marched across Sydney Harbour Bridge on May 28.
The consensus of the forum was that a rally on September 15 would start at 10am at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Victoria Park. This position was supported by an emergency meeting of the Anti-Olympics Alliance on August 5.
Whether this protest will march from Victoria Park to Homebush Bay remains an open question, to be determined by further negotiations between indigenous organisations. It may end up being decided on the day itself. It also remains unclear whether the Metropolitan Land Council will proceed with plans for a midday rally in the city on September 15.
Donations and visits to the Aboriginal Tent Embassy will be much appreciated and publicity for the September 15 rally will be available shortly. Phone 0425 209 375 to get involved or obtain more information.