salams,
the veins of this country are currently overflowing with love.
kevin rudd, the prime minister of australia, will today say 'sorry' to indigineous australians.
the apology will ostensibly seek to acknowledge the horrors of past government policies, policies that:
a. sanctioned the occupation and dispossesion of indigineous land
b. targeted the extermination of aboriginal and torres strait islander people
c. refused to recognise the basic humanity of aboriginal and torres strait islander people
d. forcibly removed aboriginal and torres strait islander children from their families, communities and culture
e. introduced a multitude of lasting social and economic atrocities
of course, kevin rudd's apology is selective in its acknowledgment. there is reference to the stolen generation but effectively glosses over the worst excesses of the past.
for the record, the apology will be offered on behalf of the government and the parliament, not on behalf of the people of australia.
a few thoughts come to mind:
1. i feel genuinely sad that indigenous australians have allowed themselvs to be directed by the pragmatic policies of consecutive governemnts
2. the reduction of indigenous demands to the acknowledgment of past injustices, and the promise of future advancement, is a travesty to the ancestors of this land
3. indigenous australians need idealists, not pragmatists. the issue is not an apology. the issue is the reversal of the occupation and dispossession of indigineous land.
4. time is not a factor. aboriginal and torres strait islander people have a right to define the way in which this land is utilised.
5. but on this point, a question needs asked as to whether such an outcome is demanded by indigineous australians. and is it an eventuality that indigineous australians could handle?
6. an apology is only sincere when the perpetrators of injustice abandon such injustices. current government policies vis a vis indigineous peoples is the same racist, genocidal and assimilationist policies of the past masked in more modern political constructs.
7. in addition to policies regarding indigieous populations, the government of australia is still engaging in or supporting sorrowful interventionist policies in other parts of the world. the solomons islands, east timor, papua new guinea, west papua, israel, iraq, afghanistan come to mind.
8. if australia is truly sorry, then it would cease the imposition of its 'foreign' values and 'foreign' solutions upon all indigineous populations.
9. there are many lessons to be learned from the indigineous experience that are of seminal importance to the Muslim community in Australia. this will form the basis for future writing iA.
the plight of indigineous australians is not an indigineous issue. it is a human issue requiring human concern. there is no excuse for any of us not to be concerned.
the veins of this country are currently overflowing with love.
kevin rudd, the prime minister of australia, will today say 'sorry' to indigineous australians.
the apology will ostensibly seek to acknowledge the horrors of past government policies, policies that:
a. sanctioned the occupation and dispossesion of indigineous land
b. targeted the extermination of aboriginal and torres strait islander people
c. refused to recognise the basic humanity of aboriginal and torres strait islander people
d. forcibly removed aboriginal and torres strait islander children from their families, communities and culture
e. introduced a multitude of lasting social and economic atrocities
of course, kevin rudd's apology is selective in its acknowledgment. there is reference to the stolen generation but effectively glosses over the worst excesses of the past.
for the record, the apology will be offered on behalf of the government and the parliament, not on behalf of the people of australia.
a few thoughts come to mind:
1. i feel genuinely sad that indigenous australians have allowed themselvs to be directed by the pragmatic policies of consecutive governemnts
2. the reduction of indigenous demands to the acknowledgment of past injustices, and the promise of future advancement, is a travesty to the ancestors of this land
3. indigenous australians need idealists, not pragmatists. the issue is not an apology. the issue is the reversal of the occupation and dispossession of indigineous land.
4. time is not a factor. aboriginal and torres strait islander people have a right to define the way in which this land is utilised.
5. but on this point, a question needs asked as to whether such an outcome is demanded by indigineous australians. and is it an eventuality that indigineous australians could handle?
6. an apology is only sincere when the perpetrators of injustice abandon such injustices. current government policies vis a vis indigineous peoples is the same racist, genocidal and assimilationist policies of the past masked in more modern political constructs.
7. in addition to policies regarding indigieous populations, the government of australia is still engaging in or supporting sorrowful interventionist policies in other parts of the world. the solomons islands, east timor, papua new guinea, west papua, israel, iraq, afghanistan come to mind.
8. if australia is truly sorry, then it would cease the imposition of its 'foreign' values and 'foreign' solutions upon all indigineous populations.
9. there are many lessons to be learned from the indigineous experience that are of seminal importance to the Muslim community in Australia. this will form the basis for future writing iA.
the plight of indigineous australians is not an indigineous issue. it is a human issue requiring human concern. there is no excuse for any of us not to be concerned.
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