Australia moves to ban anti-racism protest citing virus
06 June, 2020
Australian police on Friday moved to ban a Black Lives Matter protest planned in Sydney, citing the chance of spreading the coronavirus.
Around 10,000 persons are anticipated to march in Sydney on Saturday to express solidarity with US protestors and demand a finish to frequent Aboriginal deaths in custody in Australia.
On the eve of the protest, the authorities -- backed by prominent local conservatives -- launched legal action to ban the rally on health grounds.
Australia has detected a sustained drop in the amount of COVID-19 cases, but social distancing rules stay in force and mass gatherings are not permitted.
THE BRAND NEW South Wales Supreme Court was asked to declare the protest illegal.
"We've commenced legal action on the foundation that people don't believe the protest could be conducted in a safe way," NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said.
Civil rights protests shaking the United States have resonated with many in Australia -- a country that also wrestles with the legacy of a racist past.
Several protests have already occurred across Australia and the planned march in Sydney is one of several due to happen on Saturday.
Organizers desire to highlight the high degrees of imprisonment for First Nations Australians and the large numbers of indigenous deaths in custody -- more than 400 within the last three decades.
The legal action was a U-turn for the authorities -- who initially granted the Sydney event the green light -- and follows heavy criticism of the protest in the country's conservative media.
Organizers were determined to just do it, utilizing a groundswell of public opinion to press for long-stalled reforms.
"Tomorrow, we will march if they like it or not, because this is our land and nothing is going to stop anybody," said Latona Dungay, whose son David died in prison in 2015.
Green party parliamentarian David Shoebridge attacked the move as heavyhanded, calling for police to have a more nuanced approach.
"This is simply not what's needed. This needs cooperation and understanding, not force," Shoebridge said.
Protesters in Melbourne were similarly warned they could face fines for attending a rally in the town, with authorities urging persons to stay home.
Earlier on Friday, a huge selection of protesters gathered in the nation's capital Canberra even while Prime Minister Scott Morrison urged persons to stay home.
"Let's find a better way and another way expressing these sentiments instead of putting your own health at risk," Morrison said.
He admitted there is more to be achieved to handle indigenous inequality but continued to reject parallels with america.
"Australia is not other areas, so let's cope with this as Australians rather than appropriate what's happening far away to our country at the moment."
Source: www.thejakartapost.com
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