Young people rally against 'legalised racism'
Hundreds of secondary students walked out of school last week to protest the racist policies of the federal government, in particular its refusal to repeal mandatory sentencing laws in Western Australia and the Northern Territory and its attempt to deny the existence of stolen generations of Aboriginal children.
They were joined by university students and others in a week of action organised by Resistance. The demonstrators claimed that Prime Minister John Howard has now adopted many aspects of Pauline Hanson's platform at the 1998 federal election and called for further actions to reverse the government's racist offensive.
Seventy people participated in a vibrant rally in Hobart on April 12, reports Nikki Ulasowski. High school student Tegan Hewitt told the rally, "In 1998 tens of thousands of secondary students participated in walkouts across the country to oppose Pauline Hanson's One Nation party. Here we are back again to send a clear message to the Howard government that we will not stand for the current barrage of racist policies. These policies attack the basic human rights of Aborigines."
Hewitt also drew a parallel between the treatment handed out to Aborigines and that dealt to asylum seekers who arrive in Australia illegally.
Protesters burnt the Australian flag in opposition to what they argue it symbolises: racism, injustice and oppression. They then marched to Tasmanian senator Brian Gibson's office where petitions were presented containing thousands of signatures opposing the government's treatment of refugees and lack of action against mandatory sentencing laws in the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Inside the office, protesters chanted "Liberal Party, Racist Scum."
Brendan Dobson reports from Canberra that, despite rain, 60 people rallied there on April 14. Although it was the last day of term, and some schools refused to give permission for students to attend, many of the demonstrators had defied their principals to walk out of school in protest.
Audrey Kinnear, from the National Sorry Day Committee, spoke of her experience as a member of the stolen generation and emphasised the importance of young people taking up the fight against racism.
She described mandatory sentencing as "a law without justice, a law without choice and an unjust, racist law".
James Vassilopolous, the Canberra secretary of the Democratic Socialist Party, labelled the deal on mandatory sentencing between the PM and NT chief minister Denis Burke "a surrender to racism", and called on people to maintain the rage.
Erin Killion reports that 100 people demonstrated in Newcastle on April 14, including many enthusiastic protesters carrying their own hand-made placards. Resistance high school activist Renee Laryman addressed the rally, along with speakers from the Newcastle University's social work department and the Uniting Church student club. An effigy of the prime minister was burnt before protesters marched to Liberal senator John Tierney's office.
Forty people rallied in Perth on April 14, Abie Hamilton reports. The rally was endorsed by the National Union of Students (NUSWest), the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee, the Aboriginal Legal Service and Murdoch University Student Guild.
People passing were encouraged to sign a banner that read, "Oppose mandatory sentencing! End legalised racism!". Protesters also called for federal recognition of and compensation for the stolen generations and that the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody be implemented.
Dennis Eggington, the director of the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA, spoke of the deeply racist impact of mandatory sentencing on Aboriginal people. Claudia Beltran-Fuentes from Resistance dismissed Howard's "compromise" on mandatory sentencing as a sham. Resistance activist April-Jane Fleming emphasised the need for a campaign that mobilises young people against the governments' racist policies.
Craig Edwards, NUSWest education officer, condemned mandatory sentencing as a violation of human rights, saying it does not address the underlying cause of crime, which is poverty. Jim Duffield from the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee also spoke.
The protesters marched on Premier Richard Court's office, chanting "Justice Yes! Racism No! Richard Court has got to go!". Once there, speakers condemned the WA government's mandatory sentencing legislation, erosion of native title rights, and other racist policies. One protester recounted how his grandfather survived a massacre at Pinjarra.
Angela Luvera reports that 30 people rallied in Brisbane, and many more high school students walked out of school in protest on April 14. Year 11 student and Resistance activist Daniel Sullivan, who co-chaired the rally, said, "The mandatory sentencing laws are really shit. They are locking up people the same age as me, and the latest changes to the laws simply mean giving more power to the police."
Antoinette Chiha and Kenzee Patterson report that 150 high school students from all over Sydney participated in a march against racism on April 14. Resistance activist Becky Fairall-Lee, who chaired the rally, stressed "We are the next generation. We are not going to be racist like this government ... we are going to show that we will win justice."
Jenny Munro, a leader of the Sydney Aboriginal community, spoke passionately of how her grandmother who was taken from her family at the age of 15. Protesters then marched on Prime Minister John Howard's office, chanting and holding signs of "Johnny Howard, racist coward", and "Migrants are welcome; racists are not", stopping commuters in their tracks.
Several high school students took to the microphone and voiced their frustration. "It is the duty of high school students and people everywhere to protest against racism", one student told the crowd. The action concluded with discussion groups at a park in Circular Quay, where protesters were entertained by a didgeridoo player.
Stuart Munckton reports that 30 people rallied in Adelaide on April 15. Protesters heard a message from Brian Butler, a South Australian commissioner for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission and from various other speakers.
Resistance has vowed to continue such actions around the country. To get involved, contact your nearest Resistance branch.