Boorloo Invasion Day rally organiser Fabian Yarran said Western Australia Police had failed on multiple fronts to protect First Nations people and allies at the Day of Mourning rally.
A home-made bomb was thrown into crowd at the start of the rally at Forrest Place. It did not detonate, but the WA Police now say that it was designed to “explode on impact”. In other words it could have caused mass casualties.
The Day of Mourning organisers had attempted to meet with police in the lead-up, but did not get a response. Yarran on January 28 condemned police for the lack of communication and failure to adequately address far-right threats.
“This incident must be fully investigated as an act of terrorism and a hate crime against First Nations people and protesters, and appropriately charged as such,” Yarran said.
He said the police, government and media response in the 24 hours following the incident had downplayed the threat and talked up charges for less serious, non-terror and non-hate offences.
He said when the device was discovered, the lack of communication with WA Police led to confusion. “At no point was there clear, timely or transparent communication with rally organisers.”
“The race, religion and political affiliation of the intended victims has clearly guided this lacklustre response … The organisers condemn any attempt to downplay the politicised motives, hatred and violence of the alleged perpetrator towards rally attendees”.
Yarran said the royal commission into antisemitism must be expanded to include all forms of racism and far-right extremism.
“What we are seeing is not an isolated issue; these threats impact many communities, and any serious inquiry must reflect that reality.
“This incident highlights a broader and ongoing failure by police to properly address the rise of the far right. These threats are real, escalating and must be treated with urgency.”
First Nations people excluded
Yarran said community safety depends on strong, respectful relationships and “that was completely absent in this case”. He said more First Nations liaison officers within WA Police would help, as “First Nations communities are too often excluded from decisions that directly impact us”.
Yarran said that negotiations around Invasion Day and other major protests must be with the senior levels of police as “these are complex, high-risk events”.
“The [January 26] rally had already received several serious threats, yet these were not appropriately addressed due to a lack of police communication. This failure placed organisers, participants and the broader community at risk.”
Sam Wainwright was speaking on behalf of Socialist Alliance when the police started pushing people off the stage. He told Green Left that the police were initially uninterested. “Reliable reports suggest the device was thrown into the crowd at around 12.15pm and given to the police at around 12.30pm. But it was not until 12.50pm that police decided to evacuate the space.
“This delay, combined with Elders being shoved off the stage, fuelled suspicion among part of the crowd that the police were looking for an excuse to shut down the event.” Since then, he said sections of the mainstream media have downplayed what would have been immediately labeled a “terrorist” event if it had been directed at different victims.
“For years the corporate media has slandered the Palestine solidarity movement for allegedly promoting hate. It has dishonestly tried to connect the anti-genocide movement to the Bondi massacre. Meanwhile, it treats racist right-wing haters who have targeted immigrants, Muslims and Indigenous people with kid gloves.
“It’s no accident that a racist would target an event designed to bring public attention to the racist violence and, frankly terrorism, that many Indigenous people still experience today.”
Federal investigation needed
Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung independent Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe is calling on the federal Labor government to “lead a comprehensive response” as it did following the Bondi attack.
“What happened in Perth was not a minor incident … it was a serious act of violence that could very easily have become a mass-casualty event, and it must be treated as such.
“When violence is linked to Muslims, the word ‘terrorism’ appears in headlines almost immediately. But when First Peoples are targeted by white supremacists, the response is silence, minimisation and delay.
“That double standard is glaring and deeply dangerous. It reflects the entrenched racism embedded across so many of this country’s institutions.
“We need the same seriousness and urgency applied to tackling the rising racism and violence against First Peoples across the continent.”
Thorpe said there were too many “incidents” for the government to ignore. She said the neo-Nazi attack on First Peoples at Camp Sovereignty was also downplayed, “with authorities refusing to recognise it as a hate crime or an act of terror.
“Time and again, violence against our people is treated as less serious.”
Nearly 48 hours on, not much is known about the alleged attacker; their identity has been suppressed and “police have not been transparent with Elders”.
“All forms of hate and political violence must be called out consistently. First Peoples should not be treated as expendable or lesser than [others] and violence against us must never be normalised or ignored.”
The Human Rights Law Centre said on January 28 it supports the call for this incident to be fully and independently investigated, including as an act of terrorism and a hate crime against First Nations people and those people peacefully protesting. “Political or racist violence has no place in Australia and undermines everyone’s democratic freedoms”, it said.