Newsletter date: 25 April 2013
Contents:
* David T. Rowlands, Green Left: 'Gallipoli, Inc' helps the denial of genocide
* Dean Ashenden, Canberra Times: Best we forget?
* Gerry Georgatos, The Stringer: The Killing Times
* Noah Riseman, WA Today: Our black history: lest we forget Aboriginal veterans
* Keeli Cambourne, Illawarra Mercury: Aboriginal Diggers 'couldn't even get a beer in a pub'
* The Stringer: Roger Cook gets it right, Governor wrong
* Richard Fotheringham, Australian: Inside the killing fields of Queensland
* NIRS: Australians urged to remember Indigenous diggers
* Canberra Anzac Eve Peace Vigil: with sorrow for the trauma to Aboriginal peoples in the wake of Australia's Frontier Wars
* Redfern ANZAC Day March and Commemorative Service: Honouring our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Servicemen and Servicewomen
* Mark Kenny and Josephine Tovey, Daily Advertiser: Libs reignite culture wars over Anzac Day teaching
* Tracker: Pyne's Anzac concern a distraction: PM
* Background to the Aboriginal sovereignty movement
* Nicola Butler, The Stringer: National Congress membership soars
* Background to National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
* Other articles
* DAVID T. ROWLANDS, GREEN LEFT: 'GALLIPOLI, INC' HELPS THE DENIAL OF GENOCIDE
- Analysis / Opinion
Green Left: 'Gallipoli, Inc' helps the denial of genocide
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53885
23 Apr 13: "The truth about Anzac Day is that it is as much about denial as it is about remembrance. It is a denial that functions for both sides of the original conflict. The two countries that have invested much energy into sustaining the Gallipoli industry - Australia and Turkey - also have a genocidal past. Not coincidentally, both countries have used the device of "Gallipoli, Inc" to blot out shameful historical memories that they would rather not address." By David T. Rowlands
* DEAN ASHENDEN, CANBERRA TIMES: BEST WE FORGET?
- Analysis / Opinion
Canberra Times: Best we forget?
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/editorial/best-we-forget-2013042...
23 Apr 13: "Dean Ashenden argues that Australia must take a long, hard look at the war waged against its first people. ... It is now 33 years since the Australian War Memorial (AWM) was first asked to consider recognising the ''frontier wars''. The suggestion came from a distinguished historian and consultant to the memorial, none other than Geoffrey Blainey. Blainey's view was unusual at the time, but support for it grew to include historians ranging from the usual left-liberal suspects such as Ken Inglis and Henry Reynolds to the memorial's then-principal historian Peter Stanley and ... " Dean Ashenden "Dean Ashenden has written on relations between black and white in Australia in History Australia, Meanjin, The Weekend Australian and Inside Story."
* GERRY GEORGATOS, THE STRINGER: THE KILLING TIMES
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: The Killing Times
http://thestringer.com.au/the-killing-times/
22 Apr 13: "Australia was founded on bloodshed, and its historical identity and its origins-of-thinking include slavery (blackbirding), social engineering, apartheid, racism. To deny all of this is to keep Australians hostage to the various veils and layers of racism. Understanding the past is to free up the present and the future from being held hostage by lies. Far too often our ability to discover the truth has been outstripped by the capacity to manifest deceit." By Gerry Georgatos, a life-long human rights and social justice campaigner, a multi-award winning investigative journalist
* NOAH RISEMAN, WA TODAY: OUR BLACK HISTORY: LEST WE FORGET ABORIGINAL VETERANS
- Analysis / Opinion
WA Today: Our black history: lest we forget Aboriginal veterans
http://www.watoday.com.au/comment/our-black-history-lest-we-forget-abori...
24 Apr 13: "It is time to honour indigenous Australians who fought and died for us.
Anzac Day is a time when all Australians pause to remember the sacrifices service members have made to defend this land. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contributions to defence of country are part of that history, and they, too, must be remembered, honoured and thanked. This is not about special treatment; it is about remembering that among the ranks of the Anzacs and the many other men and women who defended Australia, some of them were black." Noah Riseman "Dr Noah Riseman is a senior lecturer in history at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne. He is the author of the book Defending Whose Country? Indigenous Soldiers in the Pacific War."
* KEELI CAMBOURNE, ILLAWARRA MERCURY: ABORIGINAL DIGGERS 'COULDN'T EVEN GET A BEER IN A PUB'
- Analysis / Opinion
Illawarra Mercury: Aboriginal Diggers 'couldn't even get a beer in a pub'
http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/1449559/aboriginal-diggers-coul...
22 Apr 13: "A 10-minute walk away from the iconic dome of the war memorial, a smaller, less well-known commemoration will also have its share of people paying their respects. The small plaque on a boulder in the bush is dedicated to the Australian Aboriginal soldiers who have lost their lives in battle in every war in which Australia has participated, but whom most Australians know little about. ... So while you're waving your Australian flag at the men and women marching down your local streets on Thursday, remember the forgotten soldiers who died for our freedom - lest we forget." By Keeli Cambourne
* THE STRINGER: ROGER COOK GETS IT RIGHT, GOVERNOR WRONG
- Analysis / Opinion
The Stringer: Roger Cook gets it right, Governor wrong
http://thestringer.com.au/roger-cook-gets-it-right-governor-wrong/
19 Apr 13: "Western Australia’s Governor, Malcolm McCusker, in what was a surprising gaffe or an act of ignorance from him - but an insult to Aboriginal peoples - claimed in a speech to a joint sitting of Parliament that Australia as we know it was "achieved without civil war or bloodshed." Tell that to descendants of the hundreds of Aboriginal cultures whose ancestors were slaughtered in massacres. ...This was all too much for the Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Roger Cook who yesterday challenged Governor McCusker’s comments. Mr Cooke has married into an Aboriginal family."
* RICHARD FOTHERINGHAM, AUSTRALIAN: INSIDE THE KILLING FIELDS OF QUEENSLAND
- Book Review
Richard Fotheringham, Australian: Inside the killing fields of Queensland
Sovereign Union: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/532
6 Oct 10: "The discovery of a memoir by Steele Rudd's father sheds light on the murderous collision between settlers and Aborigines on the Darling Downs. Euopean settlement in Australia was bloody brutal. The idea that on small or imagined provocation you had to kill Aborigines indiscriminately was tacitly acknowledged throughout the immigrant rural communities: "how else could the land be made safe for settlers and their families?" Here is a book review that reveals a few historical records of southern Queensland's frontier wars."
* NIRS: AUSTRALIANS URGED TO REMEMBER INDIGENOUS DIGGERS
- Audio
National Indigenous Radio Service: Australians urged to remember Indigenous diggers
http://www.nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/29128/Australians-urged-to-reme...
24 Apr 13: "An Indigenous Vietnam War veteran says Australians should take time this ANZAC Day to remember the sacrifices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who fought in the nation’s wars."
National Indigenous Radio Service: Call to improve Canberra war memorial
http://www.nirs.org.au/blog/NEWS/article/29129/Call-to-improve-Canberra-...
24 Apr 13: "An Indigenous soldier commemorative group has called for the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to better tribute Indigenous contributions to the nation’s wars."
* CANBERRA ANZAC EVE PEACE VIGIL: WITH SORROW FOR THE TRAUMA TO ABORIGINAL PEOPLES IN THE WAKE OF AUSTRALIA'S FRONTIER WARS
- Past Event
Event: Wed 24 April 2013: Canberra, ACT
Canberra Anzac Eve Peace Vigil 2013
"With each successive Vigil on the eve of Anzac Day,
our contemplation of the sufferings in Australia’s war
involvements is deepening, with particular recognition
and sorrow for the ongoing trauma to Aboriginal peoples
in the wake of Australia’s Frontier Wars; ...
This year, a ceremonial focus is the kindling of the
Peace Fire at the Aboriginal Memorial, embers of
which will light the lanterns and Welcome to Country
ceremony at the top of Mt. Ainslie, light the community
gathering and smoking ceremony at Remembrance Park,
and light the walkers’ way to the all-night Peace Vigil
at the end of Anzac Parade."
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/canberra-anzac-eve-peace-vigil-2013
* REDFERN ANZAC DAY MARCH AND COMMEMORATIVE SERVICE: HONOURING OUR ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER SERVICEMEN AND SERVICEWOMEN
- Upcoming Event
Event: Thu 25 April 2013: Redfern, Sydney, NSW
2013 - Redfern ANZAC Day March and
Commemorative Service
Honouring our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Servicemen and Servicewomen
Event details: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Redfern-Waterloo/message/7135
* MARK KENNY AND JOSEPHINE TOVEY, DAILY ADVERTISER: LIBS REIGNITE CULTURE WARS OVER ANZAC DAY TEACHING
- Analysis / Opinion
Daily Advertiser: Libs reignite culture wars over Anzac Day teaching
http://www.dailyadvertiser.com.au/story/1450363/libs-reignite-culture-wa...
23 Apr 13: "Retired top soldier Peter Cosgrove has emerged as the man most likely to replace Australia's first female governor-general under a future Coalition government intent on putting the Anzac tradition above indigenous history. ... The vice-regal stoush came as opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne appeared to re-open the so-called ''history wars'' which raged during the Howard years, by attacking the school curriculum for putting Aboriginal and multicultural commemoration days on the same level as Anzac Day." By Mark Kenny and Josephine Tovey
* TRACKER: PYNE'S ANZAC CONCERN A DISTRACTION: PM
- News
newsTracker: Pyne's Anzac concern a distraction: PM
Tracker: http://tracker.org.au/2013/04/a-coalition-government-would-look-to-chang...
Perth Now: http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/breaking-news/pynes-anzac-concern-a-dist...
23 Apr 13: "PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has dismissed as a smokescreen coalition concerns about the treatment of the Anzac story in school history classes. Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne has flagged a review of the national curriculum if the coalition wins government at the September 14 election. He wants Anzac Day to be treated with more prominence and raised concerns about the teaching of a "black armband view" of Australian history."
* BACKGROUND TO THE ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT:
Last updated: 24 April 2013
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-aboriginal-sovereig...
* NICOLA BUTLER, THE STRINGER: NATIONAL CONGRESS MEMBERSHIP SOARS
- News
The Stringer: National Congress membership soars
http://thestringer.com.au/national-congress-membership-soars/
23 Apr 13: "Membership to the Congress of Australia’s First Peoples has increased by more than 700 members in the last six months, a meeting of Congress delegates was told in Adelaide. The meeting, opened by Kaurna Elder and National Congress member, Aunty Josie Agius, received an update on initiatives by the Congress as well as an address by Co-Chair, Jody Broun. The growth in membership to the Congress was welcome news with elections to be held soon by the organisation." By Nicola Butler
* BACKGROUND TO NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AUSTRALIA'S FIRST PEOPLES:
Last updated: 5 May 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-national-congress-o...
* OTHER ARTICLES:
- Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association: Chris Munro from the NSWALC talks to CAAMA.
http://caama.com.au/chris-munro-from-the-nswalc-talks-to-caama
23 Apr 13: "New South Wales Aboriginal Land Councils says social media played a major role in informing people of overtly racist material contained in a prominent Western Australian newsletter."
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