ERA office firebombed

By Peter Johnston

DARWIN -- About 2am on September 21, two Molotov cocktails were thrown through an office window of the Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) premises here. Damage was estimated at more than $100,000. Police say another three petrol bombs were found outside the building.

Earlier in the week, bricks were thrown through the front door of the offices. Darwin police say they have no suspects, however Detective Sergeant Frew thought it was “possible” the fire was set by someone who was “anti-establishment”.

Natalie Zirngast, a campaigner against the Jabiluka uranium mine and the Democratic Socialists' candidate for the federal seat of Northern Territory, condemned the attack. She said “such actions can only set back the cause of stopping ERA from mining at Jabiluka because they alienate the broader public from the campaign”.

Zirngast added that such acts are “counterproductive because many law-abiding people, who would otherwise oppose the Jabiluka mine, will be less likely to get involved if the campaign is seen to involve such actions.”

Such acts also give the police and intelligence services the opportunity increase harassment and repression of activists, Zirngast noted.

Activists at the Jabiluka blockade have also condemned the attack, saying they had nothing to do with it, and had no prior knowledge of it.

The reactionary daily NT News attempted to pin the blame for the attacks on the blockaders, commenting in an editorial: “Despite these public denials, the issue of Jabiluka is at the heart of this attack.”

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