Global Voices

Australia Day: Fury Follows Aboriginal Tent Embassy Protest

Kevin Rennie — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 14:18:19 +0000

Australia Day ceremonies are usually the dullest of events. But not when Australia’s political leaders are together just walking distance from a gathering at the contentious Aboriginal Tent Embassy. When the crowd there heard a report that earlier in the day Opposition leader Tony Abbott had suggested its removal, a spontaneous protest took place at the Lobby restaurant where Prime Minister Julia Gillard was awarding emergency medals.

The fracas quickly turned to farce. Developments have included: that Mr Abbott’s remarks were misreported; the original tip-off came via Tony Hodges, one of the PM's media advisors (who has since resigned); accusations of a media beat-up of violence; a shoe lost by Ms Gillard was returned after suggestions of an ebay auction; a go-between was named followed by strong denials. At least that’s the best guess at the moment.

This photo of Prime Minister Julia Gillard 'escaping' from protesters has gone viral

Preston Institute knew who to blame in Silly Advisers, Silly Media – This is Canberra, Today:

Yesterday’s “outrage” involving the PM and Tony Abbott has been one of the more diverting stories doing the rounds of our media. It appears to tell us more about the media and contemporary politics more than it does about Australia’s protesting spirit.

The story itself, of an escape from a Canberra restaurant besieged by unarmed protestors, provided some great footage for the TV print media to run around the world and back.

…The reality seems to be more prosaic, with Gillard and Abbott under little substantial threat.

In a very detailed analysis at the The Conscience Vote Marian Dalton argued that:

If no one remembers anything else from Australia Day, they’ll remember the footage of Prime Minister Julia Gillard being dragged to safety…

It was an ugly display, and it did nothing good for the cause of the Tent Embassy.

What remains, then, is a shameful display of behaviour that did nothing but harm the cause of indigenous rights, and the Tent Embassy in particular.

Skepticlawyer couldn’t resist the imagery of the abandoned shoe in her post When one’s IQ is less than one’s shoe size, and we’re only talking one shoe…

Tony Abbott gives me the screaming heaves, he really does. He’s the worst sort of godbothering big government conservative. But he did not call for the tent embassy to be ‘torn down’ and he did not ‘incite a riot’. Any rioting – as is usually the case – was the responsibility of the rioters.

There is speculation in the media that Tony Hodges misquoted Abbott, making his comments more aggressive. In a perverse way, I hope that’s true, because to respond to the above with violence suggests that at least some people in Australia have made their way into political cloud-cuckoo-land.

In the post, Australia Day 2012: Evil prevails, when good men say nothing, Gladly the cross-eyed bear defends the need for the tent embassy but not the manner of protest:

Indigenous Australians have every reason to be angry. They have every reason to defend their embassy. But this is Australia and, whatever our history, whatever the mistakes of the past, here, today, we do not fight political battles with physical violence.

…I am sickened and appalled at what appears to have been an attempt by some Aboriginal activists and their cohorts to bully and frighten Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday.

In the latest twist, johnboy revealed on RiotAct’s open forum that:

In the Canberra Times the Secretary of Unions ACT, Kim Sattler, is denying she was the one who riled up the Tent Embassy with news from the Prime Minister’s Office that Tony Abbott was in the nearby lobby restaurant.
When contacted by the Sunday Canberra Times this morning, Ms Sattler said she had been at the tent embassy but she was not the go between.
“I heard it from the crowd,’’ she said.
This is a bit tricky as The Age reports that Prime Minister Gillard is saying it was Ms Sattler.

Who knows the truth at this stage.

Mike Stuchbery captured the spirit of things on his self-titled blog:

There’s the soundbite, the outrage, the money shot and what’s left is for the carrion-eaters to blog and crow about.

Nobody comes away from today’s events in Canberra looking good.

Least of all, the protesters

He even has an eyewitness in his “little brother”, if you’re interested in an alleged firsthand account.

Perhaps modern politics is more about image than about reality. And a contest amongst both media and commentariat to be the most outraged. Ironically too many were ready to chastise the tent embassy crowd for reacting hastily to incorrect information, only to do the same thing themselves to media reports.

Indonesia: Promoting E-Commerce Among Small Businesses

Mong Palatino — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:17:25 +0000

Google partners with Indonesian private and government sectors to bring 100,000 Indonesian small and medium businesses online by the end of 2012. The initiative is called Bisnis Lokal Go Online

Singapore: Greening Initiative

Mong Palatino — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:33:45 +0000

Singapore Sojourn mentions the programs of the government and initiatives from the private sector to make Singapore a greener city.

South Sudan: Urgent Steps Needed to Counter Inter-Communal Violence

Ndesanjo Macha — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:38:33 +0000

Urgent steps are needed to counter inter-communal violence in South Sudan: “Inter-communal violence in Jonglei and throughout South Sudan, while traditionally cyclical in nature, is not inevitable. The causes of this violence go beyond the retaliatory nature of cattle raiding and touch upon broader issues of accountability, reconciliation, political inclusion, state effectiveness, development, and the proliferation of arms among the civilian population.”

Equatorial Guinea: A Story Idea for Journalists Covering the Africa Cup of Nations

Ndesanjo Macha — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:31:12 +0000

Shelby Grossman shares a story idea for journalists covering the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea: ” There is a fear among those who have been in the country for a while that after the tournament the government will conduct raids and crack down on illegal immigration. The harassment of foreign West Africans is already awful.”

Ethiopia: Standing With Ethiopia's Tenacious Blogger

Ndesanjo Macha — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:27:50 +0000

Standing with Ethiopia's jailed blogger: “It would be hard to find a better symbol of media repression in Africa than Eskinder Nega. The veteran Ethiopian journalist and dissident blogger has been detained at least seven times by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government over the past two decades, and was put back in jail on September 14, 2011…”

Africa: How Africa Tweets

Ndesanjo Macha — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 11:24:11 +0000

Young people Tweeting from mobile devices are driving the growth of Twitter in Africa, according to How Africa Tweets, new research launched by Portland: “In the first ever attempt to comprehensively map the use of Twitter in Africa, Portland and Tweetminster analysed over 11.5 million geo-located Tweets originating on the continent during the last three months of 2011.”

Bhutan: Promoting National Language

Rezwan — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:56:31 +0000

Penstar protests against the tendency of some Bhutanese newspapers to undermine Dzongkha language and suggests that the national language needs to be promoted everywhere.

India: Right To Education vs. The Right Education

Rezwan — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:26:20 +0000

Vijay Menon points out that the education in India mostly means passing examinations and earning degree certificates and the issue of the quality of education is being ignored.

Pakistan: Hate Campaign Against Ahmadis In Rawalpindi

Rezwan — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 04:11:33 +0000

Naeem Shamim reports that “Banners and posters containing hate content and threats against Ahmadi Muslims are being displayed at many significant places” in Rawalpindi city near the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

China: US60,000 Per Month Postpartum Recovery Service

Oiwan Lam — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:56:00 +0000

Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translated a local report and netizen reactions on Shanghai's postpartum recovery service which costs around US60,000 per month.

China: Girl and Boyfriend Rental for Chinese Lunar New Year

Oiwan Lam — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:39:04 +0000

Jacky Huang from ChinaHush introduces a shopping item, girl/boyfriend rental for Chinese New Year, in Taobao, a most popular online shopping website in China.

China: Redpad for Government Official Only

Oiwan Lam — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 03:23:56 +0000

China Bubble Watch blogs about the introduction of Red-pad, an electronic device similar to i-pad but sold at a price (RMB9,999) twice as high as an Apple i-pad exclusively to Chinese government officials.

Slovakia: Roma “Apartheid” - and New Housing?

Tibor Blazko — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:01:47 +0000

According to this report [en], a US-based Hindu group was shocked by the “maltreatment” of the Roma in Slovakia, calling “to end Roma apartheid.” At the same time, the Slovak government announced [en] a new wave of social housing construction for the Roma, expecting that “the number of illegal Roma settlements should drop by 25 percent within the next eight years.”

Slovakia: More News on Overly Expensive Website Design

Tibor Blazko — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 00:13:52 +0000

Aktualne.sk reports [sk] that, following the initial financial inspection by the Ministry of Culture, the Slovak National Gallery is now required to pay 140 euro back, from the 25,000 euro that it reportedly spent on its new website (more on this here and here). Meanwhile, according to the World Association of Slovaks Living Abroad, the organization's new web page (still under construction) will cost over 32,000 euro and will be paid for by the state-funded Office for Slovaks Living Abroad, whose head, according to reports [sk], has already hired his friend's company for over 55,000 euro.