Supporters of the Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy in Brisbane’s Musgrave Park released the statement below on May 14.
* * *
Brisbane City Council has turned its back on negotiations with the Brisbane Sovereign Embassy over its right to exist in Musgrave Park, South Brisbane.
This afternoon at around 4pm, Luke Bell from Brisbane City Council told the Embassy by phone that negotiations were off and that Council would be forcibly removing the Embassy in the near future.
At a meeting at the Embassy last Saturday, Brisbane Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk tried to confuse the issue by saying the Embassy had to move for this Saturday's Paniyiri Festival despite the fact that he and Council were fully aware that festival organisers had publicly stated in South City News that they had no problem with the Embassy’s presence during the festival.
Mayor Quirk refused to guarantee that violence would not be used against the Embassy. Video of this can be viewed on YouTube (below).
Not only had Paniyiri organisers begun negotiations with the Embassy on how to work together but local firefighters organising an upcoming regional firefighter expo in Musgrave Park had also approached the Embassy to discuss how they could share the Park.
Since being established over two months ago, the Brisbane Sovereign Embassy has welcomed thousands of Brisbane residents to film nights, workshops, family fun days and cultural events around the sacred fire that has been established under Aboriginal law and custom.
The Brisbane Sovereign Embassy has been established to assert Aboriginal Sovereignty over the land, sovereignty that has not been legally extinguished under British, Australian, international or Aboriginal law.
We are urging supporters to contact John Jordan from Brisbane City Council on 0421 346 021 to make it clear that the people of Brisbane want the Embassy to stay.
Supporters are urgently needed on the ground at Musgrave Park.
