Sovereignty

There are warning bells ringing across the continent regarding this week's proposed Assembly of First Nations establishment meeting in Port Douglas at the National Native Title conference hosted by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. Participants to the exclusive meeting to establish an Assembly of First Nations were invited by the Australian Human Rights Commission, under the auspices of the AIATSIS National Native Title Conference as late as 3 June 2015. It appears to be a very subtle way of diverting attention away from the real sovereignty of our Peoples.

A discussion paper Decolonisation: To be or not to be included in the Constitution puts in perspective the issue of where we choose to place ourselves as First Nations and Peoples within or outside the Australian Constitution. When the Sovereign Union argues that we have never ceded nor acquiesced our pre-existing and inherent sovereign rights, we find that the Recognise campaign is promoting acquiescence and consenting to be ruled by the colonising power from Britain, the Crown. This will be the case if there is no statement in writing to the contrary of clear and plain intent in the proposed wording of the referendum.

As First Nations Peoples it is now imperative that we unite and rebuild as sovereign independent nations, in order to assert our sovereign title and rights. This will be a major political and legal fight, but it is our future for not just us, but for our children and our grandchildren. The Sovereign Union governance is made up of nominated representatives from each Nation that has made their Unilateral Declaration of Independence. These representatives come together once a year to discuss all relevant political, legal, cultural, economic and social issues that confront them.

'Telling his own people to move on from the traumas of the past, makes it very obvious why he is not accepted in many Aboriginal communities.' Ghillar Michael Anderson says, and 'It is untrue that all of the European holocaust victims have moved on and forgotten the past. Throughout Germany and other places there are memorials for those who suffered and died at the hands of tyrannical leaders and murderers, but there is only one monument to the Aboriginal dead, who were killed en masse through white farmer vigilantes and government approved killings'.

The 'Recognise' proposal that is being floated now re constitutional recognition is an attempt to outrightly steal the Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders' sovereignty and patrimony without the truth being told. 'I have said it once, I have said it many times and I will say it again: The Commonwealth government of Australia does not have the constitutional right to pass laws for the Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders of this country, as though we are citizens,' Michael (Ghillar) Anderson stated

We can say that Aboriginal people throwing spears at the first white man was an act of sovereign Peoples in defense of their lands, territories and dominions.

If we are to examine the political legal action by the people and their spear throwing, it was a military exercise authorised by their law and customs which, in total, represented an Act of State on behalf of the People. They were exercising their sovereign right to defend what was theirs.

After 227 years of military occupation by the British, we have reached a highly significant position in our history. The invaders never thought the day would come when Aboriginal Nations and Peoples would be such a powerful force in the Australian politics. We must understand that, as affirmed by the High Court Mabo (No. 2) judgment, our ancient cultures and Laws have survived British sovereignty and remain the Law of the Land, as they have never been ceded. We are now challenging more than ever the power and authority of the colonial governments.

"The time has come where we must draw the line in the sand to use Arabunna Elder, Kevin Buzzacott 's statement: 'The Black Line is drawn', in respect to the issue of constitutional reform and recognition. The intent of genocide in its rawest form. We will be finished as a distinct race of people, approved of by the selected few chosen First Nations people. This is wrong and absolutely unjust!. If we are going to be wiped out through assimilation, then we must stand and fight by whatever means possible.

With millions of dollars being spent on the Recognise campaign, many First Nations people are asking: Who they are trying to convince – non-Aboriginal people or Aboriginal people? The real hidden agenda is to coerce Aboriginal Nations and Peoples to become part of the Australian Constitution and by doing so consent to be governed. The Commonwealth government can then claim that Aboriginal Nations and Peoples have acquiesced. This is the main weapon the Crown has to counter our sovereignty movement.

Having concluded his analysis of the Freedom Summit, Ghillar Michael Anderson said it was clear that a great majority of the people who attended were determined to assert their sovereignty. He acknowledged the polarity between the people of different backgrounds, something that has never been so apparent before, and saw the coming together of these groups with an understanding that each can support the other. He also reminds us that 'The Gap' is 'widening' at an alarming rate and there are great challenges for the delegates, who will need to prioritise the needs for the short, medium and long term, and lead.