Gunai Mara elder Uncle Robbie Thorpe explained the reason for lighting the fire and establishing Camp Sovereignty on Boonwurrung Country in Melbourne’s Kings Domain on March 12, 2006 and again on January 26, is the “Blak GST”. The Blak GST is genocide, sovereignty and treaty.

Genocide, a criminal act, is on everyone’s minds as Israel’s atrocities on 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza are unprecedented in scale and are being broadcast 24/7.

Thorpe was an organiser of the original Camp Sovereignty and, because of Gaza, he thought it was time to establish the site permanently.

See also

It serves as a cultural exchange for people to learn about the genocide on this land, the true sovereignty and the lack of any treaty.

The Gaza genocide has put the spotlight on genocides that have happened, and which are ongoing here: it has been the same dehumanisation and subjugation.

And just as there is a push back against naming the mass slaughter of innocent civilians in Gaza, there was the Great Australian Silence here as First Peoples were erased from the history books.

This means that the myths of terra nullius, peaceful settlement and other prejudices are still around and the true history of mass killings, dispossession and segregation camps remain........

© Green Left Weekly