Tent embassy protest 'a set-up'

27 Jan 2012, 4:03 pm   -   Source: AAP
Share This

Protesters at the Aboriginal tent embassy in Canberra have defended their actions and called for more rights for indigenous people.

Australians have been told to "get over" the violent scenes of an Australia Day protest involving Prime Minister Julia Gillard and start focusing on the needs of the Aboriginal community.

Dozens of indigenous community representatives met in Canberra on Friday to celebrate the 40th year of the tent embassy outside Old Parliament House and later insisted the incident was a political stunt.

About 200 protesters surrounded a Canberra restaurant where Ms Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott were attending an awards ceremony, prompting a frantic escape led by a phalanx of government security personnel.

In chaotic scenes, Ms Gillard lost a shoe and almost tumbled.

But those involved in the protest said they were set up.

"The Australian Federal Police came at us with force and we did not retaliate with force," protest spokeswoman Selina Daveys-Newry told reporters.

"We see straight through that little puppet play.

"We recognise it for the political stunt that it was, so you mob just need to move on."

The protest was sparked by comments made by Mr Abbott which were construed as suggesting the tent embassy should be dismantled.

It has been claimed a member of Ms Gillard's staff told protesters where to find Mr Abbott.

Fellow protest spokeswoman Barbara Shaw admitted she passed on information to the crowd about Mr Abbott's whereabouts but would not say directly whether the person who gave it to her worked for Ms Gillard.

"Whoever told me was a member of the public," she said.

"There were a lot of people here yesterday.

"I just heard Tony Abbott's name."

Senior indigenous leaders such as social justice commissioner Mick Gooda and Warren Mundine are dismayed at what happened on Thursday but a tent embassy organiser called them "handpicked puppets" who did not represent grassroots Aboriginal people.

Michael Anderson, the last surviving member of the original four that established the tent embassy in 1972, denied the ugly protest had set back the indigenous movement.

"You fellas can ... dwell on that and stay there, but right now we're passed that," he said.

"We're over it, so get over it and move on."

Community members met for several hours on Friday before agreeing to declare sovereignty over Australia - something they said had never been given up by the Aboriginal people.

"Either you respect us as a sovereign people or piss off out of our country," indigenous activist Paul Coe said.

Mr Anderson said legal action was likely to be part of the process but that a mandate would first be sought from all the various clan groups.

Meanwhile, protesters said they'd give back the navy wedge-heeled shoe Ms Gillard lost but said they would also ask her to "give us back our country".

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube