Conquistador
Vive la Revolution!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080213..._aborigines;_ylt=AumFqFkxk8SAP8_52LAvV1hvaA8F
In short, Australia has officially apologised for actions made some 80 or so years ago concerning the indigenous peoples, Aborigines. This is something that previous governments have refused to do.
The apology is directed mainly at the "Stolen Generation", where half-caste Aboriginal children were taken from their families and homes in part of an assimilation program.
Now, I'm not sure how big this is elsewhere in the world (though it has made the news on all international sites I looked at) but it is pretty damn big in Australia.
I certainly know that we are not the only nation with such a checkered indigenous-related past.
I am of mixed views on the apology, and agree and disagree at the same time.
I am very much of the opinion that it is right to acknowlege that what was done was wrong - which it certainly was - yet I do not see how it is our responsibility to apologise.
It has opened a whole new kettle of fish, already bids to sue the Government for compensation have been made and all sorts of rights activists have spoken up.
However, despite all this, it certainly was a massive step forward in mending the bridge between indigenous and non-indigenous relations in our country and I hope that other nations will follow.
Thoughts? Both Australians and anyone else if you know anything about it?
CANBERRA, Australia - Aborigines organized breakfast barbecues in the Outback, schools held assemblies and giant TV screens went up in state capitals as Australians watched a live broadcast of their government Wednesday apologizing for policies that degraded its indigenous people.
In a historic parliamentary vote that supporters said would open a new chapter in race relations, lawmakers unanimously adopted Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's motion on behalf of all Australians.
"We apologize for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians," Rudd said in Parliament, reading from the motion.
The apology is directed at tens of thousands of Aborigines who were forcibly taken from their families as children under now abandoned assimilation policies.
"For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry," the motion said. "And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry."
Aborigines remain the country's poorest and most disadvantaged group, and Rudd has made improving their lives one of his government's top priorities.
In short, Australia has officially apologised for actions made some 80 or so years ago concerning the indigenous peoples, Aborigines. This is something that previous governments have refused to do.
The apology is directed mainly at the "Stolen Generation", where half-caste Aboriginal children were taken from their families and homes in part of an assimilation program.
Now, I'm not sure how big this is elsewhere in the world (though it has made the news on all international sites I looked at) but it is pretty damn big in Australia.
I certainly know that we are not the only nation with such a checkered indigenous-related past.
I am of mixed views on the apology, and agree and disagree at the same time.
I am very much of the opinion that it is right to acknowlege that what was done was wrong - which it certainly was - yet I do not see how it is our responsibility to apologise.
It has opened a whole new kettle of fish, already bids to sue the Government for compensation have been made and all sorts of rights activists have spoken up.
However, despite all this, it certainly was a massive step forward in mending the bridge between indigenous and non-indigenous relations in our country and I hope that other nations will follow.
Thoughts? Both Australians and anyone else if you know anything about it?