Source: The Age December 3 2004
Calm, perhaps only temporary, has returned to Palm Island in
north Queensland. But rumblings from Aboriginal Australia - over
issues such as racism, injustice and deaths in custody - are
growing louder.
"We are in a crisis racially in this country," leading
indigenous academic Professor Boni Robertson said. "They cannot
expect to keep treating our people this way and that there will be
no retaliation." The death in custody of Palm Island man Cameron
Doomadgee, 36, has sparked an outcry in the indigenous community.
The still mysterious events that occurred within an hour in a
watchhouse cell on the island have ignited ever-present tensions
between indigenous Australia and white authority.
"Palm Island is not a specific case; many of our indigenous
communities have been pushed to almost breaking point," Professor
Robertson said. "In similar circumstances other communities could
react the same way.
"How many times do our people have to make this point to
government?"
Last Friday up to 300 rioting islanders set fire to the
Aboriginal settlement's watchhouse, police station and residential
barracks before going on a rampage on the island's government-owned
buildings.
The riot followed the release of Mr Doomadgee's autopsy results,
which revealed the 36-year-old suffered four broken ribs and died
from an intra-abdominal hemorrhage caused by a ruptured liver and
portal vein. The injuries occurred during a "scuffle" with a
policeman on November 19.
The angry mob, who believed Mr Doomadgee had been murdered,
responded with fury. Police, media and others were forced to flee
in fear of their lives.
Aboriginal leaders are planning national protest rallies on
December 11 to declare "enough is enough".
- AAP
