Watch out for rip-off attempts at UN meeting

Michael Anderson

02 May 2011

The United Nations' central coordinating body on Indigenous rights will for one day this month examine the papal edicts that 'justified' white invasions worldwide and a NSW Aboriginal leader calls for vigilance to stop more ripoffs.

Following the New Way Sovereignty Summit over Easter, its convenor, Michael Anderson, says he's had late notice that the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) will look at Indigenous people and the 'doctrine of discovery' on 16 May in what was being described as a side event to the upcoming 10th annual two-week session of UNPFII in New York.

"We must be assured that this is not another move by the United Nations and their member states to formulate a strategy to interfere with Aboriginal moves to have this matter truly investigated by legal enquiry," the leader of the 3,000 Euahlayi writes in a media release. The tribe's ancestral lands straddle the border area of northwest NSW and southwest Qld.

Mr Anderson is the last survivor of the four young Black Power men who set up the Aboriginal embassy in Canberra in 1972 and spent many years lobbying for the Aboriginal cause in various United Nations forums.

On the agenda of UNPFII's eleventh session next year, the special theme will be "The Doctrine of Discovery: its enduring impact on indigenous peoples and the right to redress for past conquests (articles 28 and 37 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples)".

The New Way Sovereignty Summit movement has already investigated the discovery doctrine to understand its impact on Aboriginal peoples everywhere. There are more than 370 million in some 70 countries.

"It is this concept our invaders used to assert a right to argue that discovering land peopled by non-Christians meant that these lands were occupied by 'heathens and pagans'; thus, they argue that they had a divine right as Christians to assume ownership of all that comes within this land and we the people became their object for hatred and thus we find the rise and rise of racism, prejudice and murder. This 'divine right' came from the Catholic popes who issued papal bulletins granting the European invaders the right to take the lands of non-Christians in various parts of the world," Mr Anderson writes.

He argues that the Mabo judgement No. 2 concluded that the question of Aboriginal sovereignty cannot be dealt with within the Australian legal system, but belongs to another legal jurisdiction. "That is where the New Way Sovereignty Summit will go."

Mr Anderson urges: "Don't fall for their pretended generosity as [Coalition leader Tony] Abbott is promoting. He knows that what we are about to do will cause big problems for Australia and these problems will overtake the rest of the world as well.

"We must not get too excited and sign away any of your rights as a people, otherwise they will argue that you have given your INFORMED CONSENT, and anything that we achieve at the International Court of Justice may not overturn your consent to let the white man have what you truly own: the land, the water, the natural resources, gas, petroleum, oil and all the minerals, including gold and silver.

"Just say NO DEAL. If they want to force deals then do not enter any agreements unless they give you true royalties, free of any controls, and make sure that should you agree to terms, that the original agreement does not include any future expansion of the mine, because any expansion must include a new royalty arrangement. STAND UP AND STAND YOUR GROUNDS, PEOPLE, stop being cheated.

"We are almost there, and the leaders of the dominant society are beginning to panic and make all the moves to pretend that they care and seek to correct the wrongs."