Red Report Back - Week Ending 13/03/2022
Yapakurlangu Warnkaru Matter: State Sanctioned Murder in the NT
A statement issued by Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, a Walpiri elder from Yuendumu, called for accountability and a disarming process to be introduced for police in the Northern Territory. He also noted the hypocrisy in how a murderer is allowed to be out on bail for two years without repercussions, while Indigenous people across Australia are held in jail for issues as minute as not paying fines. Elders and the wider community have called to defund the police and reinvest the money back into the community as well as demanded better housing and decent jobs for the youth. We recognise that this fight for justice is not over when the courts say it is. It is over when First Nations people are no longer oppressed in a capitalist society. Only socialism will ensure the justice, jobs and housing they deserve. Yapakurlangu Warnkaru Matters. Love and solidarity to the Yuendumu community.
Lesson Not Learnt
Likewise, in the midst of this trial, the Northern Territory Police showed how nothing ever changes by firing six shots at an Indigenous teenager in the Palmerston suburb of Gray early last Tuesday morning. The 19-year old was last reported to be in critical condition after surgery, and unsurprisingly, police have announced that they would be launching their own investigation into the incident.
Once again, the overzealous use of violence and firearms is resorted to when it comes to dealing with Aboriginal lives. This just goes to show that piecemeal, reformist solutions are incapable of addressing the root problems. Royal Commissions, internal investigations and petitions for change will not address a problem that is inherently built into the foundations of the colonial state. A racist police force will exist as long as a colonial state built on racism exists. It is only in eliminating this state that we can truly address the issue and achieve justice and peace.
Libs Against Lismore
Among all the photo opportunities the Liberals, Australian Defence Force and other arms of the state have been seizing while they neglect the people harmed by the floods on Bundjalung Country, another new low of the Liberal party has emerged. It has been revealed that the ADF offered its services twice to the government in the midst of the crisis, before the government finally accepted the offer three days later.
The Liberals and Nationals decided that it was better for them to control the narrative for their petty politicking than it was to save the lives of people forced onto the roofs of their own homes. The shamelessness of these politicians and their bureaucratic cronies shouldn’t be forgotten once the election is over. Everyone who has been wronged by these overpaid, out of touch parasites needs to remember the pain they’ve suffered, and continue the fight to hold them accountable. Resources will never be adequately allocated under a system that is not under community control for the wellbeing of the public, rather than private interests.
For those who wish to assist in the flood recovery effort on Bundjalung Country, they can donate to the Koori Mail here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/bundjalung-community-flood-relief?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer
Sydney's Mardi Gras Sham Shows its True Face
What could be more indicative of the corporatized, pink-washed, toothless abomination that stands for Mardi Gras in Sydney these days than the news on Saturday night that Barbara Karpinski, a 78er, was ejected from the Sydney Cricket Ground by cops for displaying an “offensive message in a licensed premises”. She had been holding an anti-war placard. Don’t worry though – the CEO of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Limited has called for an “investigation” – to be performed by the police of course.
The circle is complete. What was once a radical form of protest has now been completely defanged and deradicalised. What was once a street march and indeed a battle between police and protesters, is now a ticketed event in a licensed venue with corporate sponsors. All are welcome – including cops and anybody else who has spent decades oppressing the community this “protest” claims to represent. We wouldn’t want to exclude them after all; there’s profit to be made here, and everyone’s money is the same colour.
This is what queer “liberation” looks like under capitalism. Liberals and other capitalist running dogs think that “acceptance” means corporate pandering, and the repackaging of queer identity so that it can be sold for profit, or to be used as a marketing tool. Capitalism is more than happy to squeeze as much profit as it can out of LGBTQI+ folks, but when it comes to real, radical change, the door will be slammed in their faces. Meanwhile, after 44 years we’re right back where we started – pigs stepping on the queer community.
West Papuans Rise Up
Following protests in Jayapura last Tuesday, thousands of Papuans took action against the colonial expansion of Indonesian forces into the illegally occupied territory of West Papua. The actions were in response to Jakarta and its forces announcing plans to create new provinces in occupied West Papua through the controversial Special Autonomy Law II. Actions were held across West Papua and Indonesia, with the largest, held by Papuan students in Jakarta, being forcibly dispersed by the military and ending with 102 students arrested.
This comes after the assault of school children across West Papua in the previous weeks for standing up against the controversial policy that would see more police stations and military installations established across occupied West Papua by the invading Indonesian forces. The Australian government spent $70 million on Ukraine and shed many tears for the victims of war there, yet remains happy to fund, train and supply the genocidal Indonesian regime on our doorstep. Clearly, the humanitarian streak of the Australian government is saved for those whose business interests align with their own.