Thousands March in Australia to Protest ‘Invasion Day’ (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Tens of thousands of people attended the largest yet alternative Australia Day protests in the country.
Activists marched across Australia in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who consider the country’s official national day a day of mourning. Many Australians called for the abolition of the 26 January celebrations to highlight the dispossession of indigenous land and slaughter of the countries natives, Metro reported.
While Australia Day marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the ‘First Fleet’ of British ships at Sydney Cove, many indigenous Australians, who trace their ancestry on the continent back 50,000 years, regard it as ‘Invasion Day’.
Protests attended by several thousand people took place in Melbourne, Canberra and other Australian cities. Australia’s 700,000 or so indigenous people track near the bottom of its 25 million citizens in almost every economic and social indicator.
Greens member of the legislative assembly Jenny Leong said: ‘The 26th of January should not be a day of celebration, it’s a day of mourning.
The day, intended to celebrate the birth of modern Australia, is widely celebrated down under.
The event was organized to show solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who consider Australia Day a day of mourning not celebration.
Hundreds of activists also staged a protest on London’s Westminster Bridge.
