BY KIM BULLIMORE
NEWCASTLE — Accusing Prime Minister John Howard of attempting to "whitewash the past" and arguing that his stance on reconciliation has "nothing to do with justice or equality for indigenous people", the newly formed Indigenous Students Network (ISN) has called a week of action, May 21-28, to demand justice for Aboriginal people.
"For John Howard, reconciliation has never been about two equal parties coming together and moving forward", a statement by the ISN, formed in September by students in NSW, Queensland and the ACT, declares. "Instead it is about forcing indigenous Australians to reconcile themselves with their racial oppression".
The week of action will coincide with the release, by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, of a formal document of reconciliation which has taken 10 years to draft. But government policy, which seeks to "block and discredit indigenous people and their calls for justice and an apology", has meant that the document now "has little relevance", the ISN says.
The ISN's NSW convenor, Joel Bray, has encouraged all students to take part in the indigenous week of action, calling such support "vital to show the government that the vast majority of Australians, not just indigenous people, are against the federal government's racist practices and policies".
The week of action will include art exhibitions and bush tucker BBQs, as well as forums and rallies to highlight the federal government's regressive stance on indigenous social justice issues, such as mandatory sentencing, the stolen generations, cuts to Abstudy and a treaty with indigenous people.
Most rallies organised by the ISN will be run in conjunction with a Sorry Day, May 26 national day of action organised by the National Union of Students (NUS).
In Sydney, the May 26 rally will start at Hyde Park North at 2pm. Protesters will march with three black coffins to represent the death of Aboriginal education as a result of the $20 million cut to Abstudy, Aboriginal deaths in custody and the decimation of Aboriginal families by the forced removal of their children.
The ISN is also planning a united contingent with Indigenous Solidarity Action (formerly the Coalition Against Mandatory Sentencing) in the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation-organised Corroboree 2000 walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on May 28.
In Melbourne, the ISN is asking students and supporters to join the rally organised by the Victorian Stolen Generations Committee, scheduled to begin at 10.30am at Treasury Gardens.
Students are also planning a public forum, "Aboriginal Victoria: a history of black resistance", for May 10, at which Tony Birch, a lecturer in Aboriginal history, will describe the fight waged by Victoria's Aboriginal community in the 1940s against policies of forced family separation. Other activities will include film showings and a student general meeting in support of the stolen generations.
In Brisbane, the ISN will initiate a postcard campaign, demanding that Aboriginal affairs minister John Herron implement the findings of the stolen generations report, reinstate Abstudy funding and work to overturn mandatory sentencing.
For more information on the indigenous week of action, contact Joel Bray at <joel@unistudent.com.au> or your local Resistance Centre (see advertisement on page 12).