Monday, February 15, 1999 Tent embassy protest flares again Aboriginal tent embassy protesters today lit another fire on the lawns outside New Parliament House after federal Reconciliation Minister Philip Ruddock cancelled a meeting with the group. The protesters moved back up the hill from Old Parliament House this morning after Mr Ruddock cancelled the meeting, saying it had become a publicity stunt. They rejected an offer to meet Mr Ruddock in his office, saying there would be no meeting in Parliament House. "We want to meet with them on neutral ground," said embassy spokesman Michael Anderson. "We should not be forced into and we won't be forced into meeting with their terms. We're not about compromising. If they want us to compromise then they have to meet us halfway." A spokesman for Mr Ruddock said the decision to scrap the meeting was taken last Friday on the grounds that it was going to become nothing more than a publicity event. The protest began outside New Parliament House last week following speculation the Government was considering moving the tent embassy from its site opposite Old Parliament House. The protesters agreed to move back down the hill last Friday after senior Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan personally arranged for the return of 211 ceremonial spears confiscated by police on Wednesday night. Police also extinguished a ceremonial fire lit on the lawns. Senator Heffernan met embassy representatives today and was handed a submission for Prime Minister John Howard. - AAP This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
