The Australian embassy in Washington D.C. has questions for American authorities about the police bashing of a 7NEWS crew, who were attacked by riot cops yesterday while covering a peaceful protest in the nation’s capital.
The powers that be have kept pretty quiet about the welfare of the actual protestors, but.
Australian Ambassador to the US, Arthur Sinodinos, today said Channel Seven plans to file a formal police complaint about the incident, which saw reporter Amelia Brace hit with a baton, and her camera operator, Tim Myers, whacked with a riot shield.
Brace and Myers emerged from the incident without severe injuries, but the footage, which was broadcast live on Sunrise, was a shocking demonstration of police force used against reporters – to say nothing of the brutality exercised against peaceful protestors demanding the end of racial injustice.
“We are in discussion with the State Department and they have offered assistance to identify where the complaint should be targeted,” Sinodinos said.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Marise Payne told the ABC she wanted to express “strong concerns with the responsible local authorities” about the incident.
In what appears to be some kind of joke, considering President Donald Trump‘s take on reporters, the US Ambassador to Australia, Arthur B, Culvahouse Jr., added that America takes “mistreatment of journalists seriously”.
A statement from Ambassador Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr. pic.twitter.com/EW5aPaptjE
— U.S. Embassy Australia (@USEmbAustralia) June 2, 2020
While Australia has backed journalists covering the civil unrest, clear declarations of support for local protestors, who are facing police aggression on a much larger scale, have not been forthcoming.
On Monday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison invoked Martin Luther King Jr., by way of meme, but stopped short of criticising the use of US police force against demonstrators.
That is the same Scott Morrison who once said Australian environmental protestors were “anarchists” who want to “deny the liberties of Australians,” for what it’s worth – and the same Scott Morrison who took a much lighter touch on recent anti-lockdown protests, staged by conspiracy theorists in the middle of a pandemic.
The US protests are expected to continue, as are the demonstrations at home, which are designed to express solidarity with folks in the States – to demand an end to Indigenous deaths in custody.
You can find a list of local protests here.
