Sydney council seeks court order to close Aboriginal tent embassy
Source: AAP|Published: Friday August 11, 5:59 PM
Aboriginal activists today branded a Sydney council racist for trying to
close down their tent embassy in a city park.
South Sydney Council is seeking an injunction in the Land and
Environment Court against the continued presence of the embassy in
Victoria Park, next to Sydney University.
The tent embassy's founder, Aboriginal activist Isabell Coe, immediately
branded the move as 'racist'.
'One week they're walking across the bridge for reconciliation and the
next they are kicking us out of the park,' Ms Coe said.
South Sydney Mayor John Fowler said Ms Coe's supporters at the embassy
had no endorsement from the Metropolitan Aboriginal
Land Council to stage a protest.
The Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council is the body coordinating
Aboriginal protests in Sydney in the period leading up to and during
the Olympic Games.
The council said it had a legal obligation to safeguard the park for use
by everyone.
Mr Fowler told reporters unlicensed drivers had been driving vehicles in
the park and that an open fire at the embassy was cause for
concern.
Ms Coe said the fire was a sacred Aboriginal symbol of healing and
reconciliation.
'I think the council should go back and learn their history,' Ms Coe
said.
'They have no respect for our ceremonies. They want to contain us (the
embassy) within 100 square metres.
'That sounds like something that was used when they put us in the
missions,' she said.
Ms Coe pointed out the council's move coincided with a police drugs raid
on the nearby Aboriginal community at Redfern.
She also took a swipe at the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council.
'We represent all Aboriginal people - not just the paid ones, not just
the ones on salaries of $60,000-plus,' she said.
The mayor of South Sydney had earlier indicated that an application by
the Metropolitan Aboriginal Land Council to stage a festival at
Redfern Oval would be approved.
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