MELBOURNE (The Guardian) - Thousands of people in Australia defied public health concerns and protested against the mistreatment of Indigenous people on ‘Australia Day’, the national holiday marking the 1788 arrival of the British First Fleet that is known as ‘Invasion Day’ by Aboriginal people.
In Sydney, as many as 3,000 people joined rallies calling for the national day be changed, although state health officials had refused to make an exemption to social-distancing rules to allow for crowds of more than 500 people.
Police said there were five arrests for minor offences.
For many Indigenous Australians, who trace their lineage on the continent back tens of thousands of years, the holiday symbolizes the destruction of their cultures by European settlers.
Chants of “Black Lives Matter” and “always was, always will be Aboriginal land” rang out in cities across the country, television footage showed.
“Until they abolish Australia Day then maybe Invasion Day will be a bit quieter,” said Lizzie Jarrett, an Indigenous Australian protest organizer in Sydney.
Australia’s Indigenous people make up about 3 percent of the country’s 24.6 million population, but lag behind other Australians in almost every indicator from health to life expectancy and employment. They are also more likely to spend time in prison, and more likely to die in police custody.