‘Worried for our kids’: alleged rally bomb sparks fear
Indigenous advocates say the allegation that a homemade bomb was thrown into a crowd at an Invasion Day rally should be treated as a racist hate crime.
A 31-year-old man accused of throwing a device “designed to explode” into a crowd of 2,500 people at a protest in Perth has been detained.
Police are investigating the incident as a potential act of terrorism and said it was just luck that the device did not explode.
It allegedly contained a mixture of volatile chemicals with nails and metal ball bearings on the outside.
Indigenous law and human rights expert Hannah McGlade believes this should be treated as a hate crime and racist attack targeting Aboriginal people.
A Curtin University associate professor says First Nations people are afraid their children will go out on Australia Day because of abuse and threats.
“With growing right-wing influence in Australia and racism still lingering, we fear for our children and their safety today,” he told AAP.
He said that in Western Australia, racial motivation had never been properly recognized by the courts, despite the law being changed to allow racism and be an aggravating circumstance to increase penalties.
“As Australia has failed so badly to tackle racism and racist violence, we have not seen authorities use this provision even in relation to murders,” Prof McGlade said.
Thousands of people were evacuated from Forrest Place in Perth’s CBD on Monday after a man was accused of trying to escape by removing an explosive device from his bag and throwing it into a crowd.
The 31-year-old man was charged with unlawful act or omission with intent to cause harm and making or possessing explosives under suspicious circumstances.
A judge in Perth ordered that the man’s identity be withheld due to concerns for his safety.
Western Australian Agriculture Minister Jackie Jarvis said on Thursday that state and federal police and ASIO were working to determine whether the January 26 incident met the criteria for a terrorist attack.
“They will work through this normal process and we need to allow that to happen,” he told reporters.
Indigenous activists criticized police and political leaders for applying “double standards” regarding the incident, as the Bondi Beach massacre was immediately declared a terrorist attack.
“When violence is associated with Muslims, the word ‘terrorism’ immediately appears in the headlines,” Victoria senator Lidia Thorpe said.
“But when First Peoples are targeted… the response is silence, disdain and delay.”
Rally organizer Fabian Yarran said the incident should be fully investigated as an act of terrorism and a hate crime against First Nations people.
Organizers said threats to the event were made before the event.
Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss said the potential for mass death is causing deep distress and fear among First Nations people.
“Although the motive has not yet been determined, there is no doubt that the targets of the attack were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their allies,” he said.
He called on the government and law enforcement to respond to the incident with the same urgency and seriousness as the Bondi terrorist attack.
WA Police said significant resources had been allocated to the event in case protest participants needed protection against a range of possible scenarios “including the critical incident” occurring.
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said she was pleased the incident was being treated as a potential act of terrorism.
“There’s no reason why a group of people in Perth, First Nations people, can’t protest without feeling like their lives are in danger,” he told ABC News.
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