Sydney Independent Media Centre NSW Police Stamp Out Protest Negotiations by Jocelyn 1:10pm Fri Sep 8 '00 phone: 0415-179-567 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Olympic protests will not be tolerated by NSW Police who will give a "swift and forceful removal" of anybody attending Bicentennial Park on the day of the Olympic Opening Ceremony Olympic protests will not be tolerated by NSW police who will give a �quick and forceful removal� of anybody attending Bicentennial Park, Homebush, on the day of the Olympic Opening Ceremony. According to Protest 2000 organiser Mr Trevor Close, the racist attitude of the NSW police is something of which the public should be aware and concerned about. Mr Close, along with other indigenous leaders Elder Herbert Simms, Ray Jackson and lawyer Sean Docker, were given the �quick and forceful� ultimatum in a recent night meeting with Assistant Commissioner Lola Scott at Ashfield Police Station, who is in charge of activism during the Olympics. �The situation is quite serious because we went to the meeting with good intentions and were trying to negotiate for the safe haven of traditional indigenous Elders,� he said. �Given the evidence following the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, we wished to negotiate conditions with police prior to any incident. However, I was told by the assistant commissioner that arrests will occur because Bicentennial Park is off the agenda.� Mr Close said he was absolutely horrified that indigenous elders were being shown such disrespect. Leaders plan to come to Sydney in peace and to speak with other tribal nations in the spirit of reconciliation and Christian fellowship. �For example, the Bundjalung Elders are a powerful traditional indigenous group and it is contemptuous to suggest they be thrown in a lock-up without proper facilities and services � its like forcefully arresting the Pope and his archbishops and putting him in a crowded cell for too many hours.� Mr Close said protest 2000 is open to all people from all nationalities and aims to bring to international attention a spotlight on the following issues:  Federal treaties under the Vienna convention (1986) need to occur individually with the 500 tribal nations, to include land, mineral, water and air rights. With this there should be compensation for the stolen generation that were physically removed from their families and culture.  The Commonwealth and the Queen of Australia, need to formally apologise for the consistent effort of government bodies, past and present in the aiding of the genocide of indigenous Australians  The right of entry for the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) member Gay McDougall to Australia to assess the impact on indigenous Australians of mandatory sentencing and amendments to native title legislation that breach international conventions and have been ratified by the Australian Government.  Under such conventions, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, article 21), Australians have the right of peaceful assembly. Australians have the constitutional right to freedom of assembly under the ICCPR.  A financial cap on bail terms with humane and respectful treatment of elders in the likelihood of arrest and full access to legal and medical services. �The reality is that Victoria Park, where the Aboriginal tent embassy presently is, will not be large enough to cope with the number of people who are entering Sydney daily and are keen to be involved in Protest 2000,� Mr Close said. �We are encouraging all Australians and international visitors to come and camp with us for these two weeks because there is room for more than 30,000 people to set up tents in the area. It will be a totally alcohol and drug free area.� People who wish to participate in the meeting point at Bicentennial Park, open to the public during the Olympics, can exit at Concord West or North Strathfield stations, where the park is about five minutes walk away. �We have planned for the site to be friendly and secure, set up in a traditional indigenous camp style with women and children comfortable in their own area � it�s really so that people can interact in a positive environment.� For further information please contact Protest 2000 Media Liaison Jocelyn on 0415-179-567, e-mail on [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Trevor Close on 0418-414-981 or Doug Williams on 61-2-9660-6945. -- ********************************** 'Click' to protect the rainforest: Make the Rainforest Site your homepage! http://www.therainforestsite.com/ ********************************** ------------------------------------------------------ RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ 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." 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