The daughter of former attorney-general Tommy Thomas has accused New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns of facilitating violence at a protest against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
The BBC reported that the Australian government invited Herzog to visit Australia after the Dec 14 attack at Bondi Beach, in a bid to help the Jewish community heal. The report said that this is despite objections from pro-Palestinian groups.
In an Instagram statement, Hannah Thomas, the former Greens candidate for Grayndler, said that there was "carnage" in Gadigal, Sydney, where protesters had gathered yesterday.
"Just some of the things we witnessed. Police grabbing Muslims as they were on the ground praying, punching people who were holding their arms in the air in surrender, shoving and kicking people as they administered first aid, riding horses into the crowd, assaulting legal observers, pushing elderly people onto the ground and dragging them, First Nations people violently arrested," Hannah posted.
She also called for Minns’ resignation after the incident.
"Minns is to blame for every single injury, for every act of violence today.
"The horrible scenes today were the entirely predictable outcome of his utter refusal to let the people of this state march on our own streets," she said.
‘War being waged’
Hannah lamented that the scene felt like a "war was being waged" by the NSW police against the protesters.
She also offered legal advice for those contemplating suing the NSW police.
BBC reported that NSW introduced restrictions on public protest following the Dec 14 mass shooting, and introduced additional “major event” powers just days before the said protest, effectively granting police authority to shut down parts of the city.
The report said that rules permitted demonstrators to gather, but prohibited them from marching, and that protesters had lost their court bid to overturn police powers limiting their right to demonstrate during Herzog's visit.
Minns also reportedly defended police response towards rally-goers.
He reportedly told Australian Channel 9's Today programme that authorities had been "put in an impossible situation last night". - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.