Old Parliament House Set Alight For Second Time Amid Sovereignty Protests
Written originally by Jack Kerley 30 Dec. 2021.
A second fire was ignited Dec. 30 at Old Parliament House in Canberra during an apparent smoking ceremony conducted by Aboriginal protesters on the steps of the building.
Protesters from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, among other groups, have been gathering around OPH since at least Dec. 21 in preparation for the 50th anniversary of the Tent Embassy on Australia Day 2022, the Age reported, with the BBC stating that tensions have been escalating for some weeks.
The ATE has issued a statement distancing themselves from the actions of the Sovereign Citizen group.
“Although we support the concept of non-violent direct action, we do not condone the destruction of public and private property,” said ATE in a statement.
The smoking ceremony was conducted “without the knowledge, consent or mandate of the Embassy Council and Traditional Owners responsible for the regulation of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy,” they said.
One of the participants in the Sovereign Citizen group, ‘Uncle Albert,’ accused the police of starting the fire due to indiscriminate use of pepper spray during a small confrontation while sitting with an indigenous flag in front of the smouldering building.
Australian Free Independent Press Network made a similar claim on Facebook, stating that the fire was caused by the the police using capsicum spray during a smoking ceremony conducted by Aboriginal elders, later retracting on Dec. 31.
The doors of Old Parliament House, now the Museum of Australian Democracy, as a result was set ablaze for the second time in as many weeks, with a smaller fire being recorded Dec 22. forcing the museum to close, ABC reported.
Police said that the former parliament building was set alight by protesters during a demonstration for Aboriginal sovereignty, according to the BBC; however, the ABC claims that the source of the fire was unclear and the protesters involved were not associated with the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.
A group calling themselves MMAMV Australia or Millions March Against Mandatory Vaccinations joined the Aboriginal protesters and livestreamed the events of Dec. 29, which were mostly uneventful, the Washington Post reported.
According to a Washington Post journalist in a tweet, MMAMV took credit for the fire however, an MMAMV representative told the Washington Post “nothing to do with what’s happening” and that the were only asked to film the events, contradicting the now deleted tweet.
“Criminal damage has no place in our democracy,” said Ben Morton, the Minister responsible for Old Parliament House, denouncing the actions that lead up to the fire, Washington Post reported.
“No system of government is perfect. In our democracy, the freedom to peacefully protest is one that we can and should celebrate,” he said, “today’s actions at Old Parliament House were not peaceful.”
Discourse around the event has quickly become political resulting in one side blaming “anti-vaxxers,” others invoking QAnon and the other side mocking them, claiming the fact the fire happened shows that Aboriginals are in distress.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stated that authorities should act quickly to ensure those responsible are made fully accountable for their actions.
Protesters were seen to be visibly aggressive towards journalists and press covering the event.
UPDATES:
– Australian Free Independent Press Network has issued a retraction over the accusation toward police that pepper spray accelerated the fire.
– Footage of the initial fire at the doors of Old Parliament House has made its way onto Twitter.
– It shows the fire, already lit, with a man putting more sticks onto it.
– No footage of the who started it has come out.
– Tweet from Washington post Journalist claiming MMAMV took credit has been deleted and WaPo article stealth edited.