(NAARM/MELBOURNE) Today, Australians who mobilised under the banner of an “anti-immigration march” escalated their campaign of hate into outright violence. This rally, co-organised by the National Socialist Network, a self-described neo-Nazi group, is part of the ongoing reality of a colony built and sustained on fascism and white supremacy.
The NSN coordinated the so-called ‘March for Australia,’ chanting “end mass immigration” and “Australia for the white man” as Victoria Police stood by and allowed the event to go ahead unbanned.
As Camp Sovereignty co-founder and local Aboriginal elder Djuran Bunjileenee Uncle Robbie Thorpe (Krauatatungalung) puts it: “Australia is a Nazi’s wet dream. What do you think would happen, when just last week, cops chaperoned Nazis through the CBD?”
While most attendees from the racist, Nazi-infused march departed the CBD during the afternoon, at about 5:05pm a group of up to 200 black-clad individuals carrying pipes, poles, and branches stormed Camp Sovereignty – a sacred burial site and community healing space on the grounds of “Kings Domain” Resting Place.
Completely unprovoked, they ran up the hill and immediately targeted women, grabbing them, throwing them to the ground, and striking them in the head. One community member, a 30-year-old primary school teacher who wished to remain unnamed, recalled: “I had what looked like a 15-year old boy rip my hair, throw me to the ground and smash into my face with his fists. He did it with a smile on his face. I couldn’t believe it.”
The armed perpetrators chanted “white power”, “white man’s land”, and “N*****g” as they swung metal poles, stomped out one of the sacred fires, and stole the Aboriginal flag; trampling it underfoot. They attempted to tear down the ‘CAMP SOVEREIGNTY’ letters but could not destroy them.
The assault lasted around ten minutes, with the Camp Sovereignty community defending the space at great personal cost, resorting to throwing logs collected for the sacred fire to hold the Nazis back.
Four people required medical attention, including two hospitalisations with severe head injuries – one with a deep gash to the head and in a critical condition. Police only arrived at the scene after the Nazis had already fled, and not a single perpetrator was arrested.
“It’s a sad day when neo-nazis are allowed to walk down the street, twisting the struggle of the working class with cheap racist rhetoric while the police point their pepper weapons at us. The attack on Camp Sovereignty is a brazen display of fascist and racist ideology, waged by macho men armed with poles and shouting racist and sexist slurs. We will be lead by First Peoples in standing up against racism, we will continue to hold the line against those who seek to target us. We are all immigrants on stolen lands, and our message to Nazis and racists is clear: your violence will be met with resistance, every day, anywhere.” – Nathalie Farah, witness at Camp Sovereignty.
This was not random violence. These racists launched their attack at the time we regularly hold community gatherings for weekly healing ceremonies. These ceremonies are dedicated to honouring our ancestors, promoting peace and unity, and working to heal the wounds of genocide and the deep rift imposed between First Nations peoples and settlers. To target us at this moment reveals that their true intent is to desecrate what is sacred and to violently disrupt our efforts at collective healing on behalf of racism, fascism and white supremacy.
Their violence disproportionately targeted women and vulnerable people, exposing both their cowardice and the gendered, fascist nature of their ideology. While they marched under the guise of opposing immigration, they themselves are the clearest manifestation of the very anti-immigrant propaganda they spew: violent immigrants who have invaded, dispossessed and brutalised this land and its people for generations. The reality is plain; if you march with Nazis, you are a Nazi.
The events of this day are not isolated. They are the latest expression of the fascist, white supremacist order on which this colony was built. What took place at Camp Sovereignty is an attack on our culture, our right to live safely and freely on our own unceded lands, and on our efforts to promote truth, healing and harmony. Camp Sovereignty is a peace camp – a gathering place. To violently invade this space with weapons was not only an act of hatred but an act of terrorism.
“This attack shows what Australia has always been — a fascist, white supremacist colony built on genocide. They came armed with poles to attack a group of predominantly women at a peace camp, but our sovereignty cannot be broken – we remain armed with truth, culture, and community, and that is far stronger than their hate.” – Keiran Stewart-Assheton, co-founder of Camp Sovereignty and spokesperson for the Black Peoples Union.
We extend our deepest gratitude to the allies and supporters who stood with us today, putting their bodies on the line to help defend Camp Sovereignty from racist violence. Your solidarity and courage in the face of fascist attack strengthens our community and shows that this struggle is not ours alone, but one shared by all who refuse to accept the ongoing brutality of colonialism and white supremacy. We hope that all those who claim to be progressive allies will follow your example.
Today we heal the physical wounds inflicted, but our spirits are not broken. We will continue to honour our sovereignty, to defend our rights, to protect what is sacred, and to promote the healing this continent desperately needs.