Activists take Rio Tinto and BHP
As a result of the incessant attacks on Aboriginal communities in Western Australia, another demonstration was called on 1 June in Melbourne.
Warriors of Aboriginal Resistance (WAR) and 70 activists marched silently through the Melbourne CBD to 120 Collins Street, where the multinational mining corporation Rio Tinto’s management offices are.
The protesters marched into the foyer of the building and peacefully occupied the floor. Aboriginal activist Arika said: “As we gather here in this building made of stolen wealth, we sit here in resistance to genocide and colonisation. We bring our grass to weave as our old people have for millennia.
“We’ve been here since time began and we are still here and we are not going away and we are going to sit here and teach maybe some people in the back there about what we have to go through every day.”
Around 25 police surrounded the protest. For an hour the occupation sat in unity in the lobby watching the demonstration of traditional weaving that shows the culture that is being wiped out by the mining corporations and the government.
After the occupation, the protest marched to the BHP Billiton centre chanting, “Stop the forced closures!” and “We are the selfish rabble!” – a chant that recently became popular after the Herald Sun condemned the Aboriginal protesters and their supporters for holding Friday night rallies that shut down a CBD intersection.
The occupation served as a reminder that without resistance and solidarity the mining bosses and the Australian government will steal more and more land.
