- by Peter Farmer
- The Guardian
- Issue #2163
Boorloo/Perth
Thousands of Australians marched in support of Indigenous sovereignty and against racism on Saturday 13 September. Thousands who already march every week to protest against the Israeli genocide in Palestine showed up to stand up for Aboriginal people and Australians of every background.
In Boorloo/Perth a demonstration for Indigenous rights and against racism also called for support for Palestine. That call strikes a national chord, as pro-Palestine, anti-genocide demonstrations in other cities have consistently linked Indigenous rights in Australia to the Palestinian struggle against genocide. In Sydney, a demonstration organised by First Nations group The Blak Caucus rallied to protest racism and support Camp Sovereignty in Naarm/Melbourne, which had been previously attacked by fascist cowards. Characteristically the NSW Premier spoke up, not for the rights of Indigenous people, but in support of the police.
In Tasmania a demonstration rallied for Indigenous Sovereignty near Hobart’s Parliament House. Cody Gangell-Smith, a Palawa man spoke up against the attack on Camp Sovereignty, calling it “terrorism, plain and simple.”
In the ACT, demonstrators from unions, and Indigenous groups rallied against racism and for Indigenous sovereignty.
In Meanjin/Brisbane Indigenous people and allies rallied against racism and for multi‑culturalism, with signs reading “No one is illegal on stolen land.”
In Alice Springs locals rallied against racism, with speaker Faron Peckham saying Australians need to “walk together.”
Communist Party of Australia members played a part at rallies as marshalls and participants. The Communist Party of Australia was the first political party in this country to support Aboriginal rights.
The Communist Party’s 2022 Political Resolution says:
Under capitalism, the process of colonisation continues in Australia today for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This occurs through an endless number of economic, political, and social means; such as the denial of land rights, pay inequality, over-policing, incarceration rates, Indigenous deaths in custody, and the pervasive racism of non-Indigenous Australians towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
