The International Indigenous Peoples’ Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL) stands in solidarity with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, the Indigenous Peoples of Australia, in their call for justice. This day, January 26, marks the painful and violent history of British colonization, land and cultural dispossession for the Aboriginal Indigenous Peoples.
Contrary to the usual festivities of Australia Day, the day when the First Fleet of 11 British ships landed on New South Wales (now Australia), Indigenous Australians hold a National Day of Mourning on Invasion Day to grieve those they have lost in the massacres and genocide behind the founding of Australia. The Indigenous Peoples of Australia express their indignation against colonization, plunder, and oppression through mass demonstrations and public assemblies.
The Australian government cannot continue to ignore the voices of Indigenous Peoples calling for justice and fighting for their rights to their land and territories. Their government cannot deny the continuing systemic and racist attacks against IP when it incarcerates Aboriginal children and Indigenous Australians, and neglects and leaves Aboriginal communities to fend for themselves against bushfires intensified by the effects of climate change.
Let this Day of Mourning also be a day of assertion and resistance. The IPMSDL stands with our Indigenous brothers and sisters in Australia as they reclaim history and march for justice and their right to self-determination. We enjoin the international community, the non-Indigenous Australians, and our members and allies to support the struggle of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders for justice and for their rights to land and life. We urge the Australian government to listen to the concerns of the IP and to recognize their rights to their ancestral land and life. National policies should serve to protect the rights of Aboriginal Peoples and not at their expense. With COVID-19 still threatening the lives of the most vulnerable, the health and lives of IP must also be prioritized. ###