A statement from the Freedom Socialist Party.
We are angered and appalled by the attack on the Boorloo Invasion Day Rally and the muted response to this atrocity. On Monday a homemade bomb, containing nails and ball bearings, was thrown into the middle of the crowd at the Invasion Day rally in Boorloo/Perth. This action was clearly intended to hurt and kill First Nations people and their supporters who were rallying with the message that January 26 is not a date to celebrate.
Participants at the Boorloo rally stood with First Nations peoples across this continent to demand truth telling. They called for the end of Blak deaths in custody, the closure of Unit 18 and for First Nations children to be freed. The action called for access to PBS and Medicare for those in prison as well as housing for all. Participants also demanded the protection of Boodja (Country).
The Freedom Socialist Party was at the Boorloo Invasion Day rally. We stand with First Nations people as proud accomplices in this struggle.
We back Fabian Yarran, an organiser of the Boorloo Invasion Day rally, who has called for the incident to be “fully investigated as an act of terrorism and a hate crime against First Nations people and protesters.” Yarran added that “the police, government and media response in the 24 hours following the incident has been inadequate, comprising solely of investigation and charges for less serious, non-terror and non-hate offences.”
“The race, religion and political affiliation of the intended victims has clearly guided this lacklustre response, and the organisers condemn any attempt to downplay the politicised motives, hatred and violence of the alleged perpetrator towards rally attendees,” Yarran said.
This act of terrorism, designed to maim and kill, took place in an environment of heightened far-right threats. Those backing the Nazi-led March for Australia rallies around the country have whipped up a climate of extreme hatred and racism against First Nations peoples. First Nations people and their accomplices see this every time we post about Invasion Day on social media. Right-wing trolls post violent and hateful comments almost faster than administrators can block and delete. One post promoting the Invasion Day rally in Gadigal drew more than 500 hate-filled comments within a short time of being uploaded.
What is urgently needed now is for all those who are targeted by the far right to form broad, democratic and accountable united fronts based on agreed points of unity to organisationally and politically defeat all of the preachers of right-wing hate.
We stand with the organisers of the Boorloo Invasion Day rally who are calling out both right-wing extremism and the double standards of those who are treating this attack in such a relaxed and low-key manner.
