豪各地で抗議デモ強行　米黒人死亡事件でアボリジニの人権問題に共鳴

【シドニーＡＦＰ＝時事】オーストラリア各地の主要都市で6日、政府が新型コロナウイルス対策として外出自粛要請を出す中、「Black　Lives　Matter（黒人の命は大切）」運動に参加するため大勢の人々が路上へ繰り出した。（写真は豪ブリスベンで、米国で広がる抗議運動への連帯を表明し、豪当局に拘束されて死亡するアボリジニが多い事態を終わらせようと訴えるデモ隊）
　当局や保守派リーダーらが、人が大勢集まる抗議デモは新型ウイルスの感染拡大につながると指摘していたにもかかわらず、シドニーやメルボルンなどの都市ではデモを強行。裁判所は健康上の理由に基づきシドニーでの抗議活動を違法と認定したが、デモ行進が始まる数分前に控訴審によって判決が取り消された。
　シドニーでの抗議デモはおおむね平和的に行われたが、「Ｂｌａｃｋ　Ｌｉｖｅｓ　Ｍａｔｔｅｒ」運動に反対した１人が警察に連行された。
　デモ参加者らは、米ミネソタ州ミネアポリスで警察に首を膝で押さえつけられて死亡したアフリカ系米国人ジョージ・フロイドさんの最後の言葉に賛同し、「息ができない」と書かれたプラカードを掲げた。フロイドさんが警察の拘束下で死亡したことにより、人権侵害に反対する抗議デモが世界中で行われている。
　さらに、「場所は違うが同じ話」と書かれたプラカードもあった。
　同じく人種差別の歴史という負の遺産を抱えるオーストラリアでは、多くの人々がこの運動に強く共鳴している。
　主催者団体は、先住民アボリジニの間で受刑者の割合が非常に高いことや、拘束時に死亡する人が多いことに関心が集まるのを願うと述べた。同国ではこの３０年間で４００人超のアボリジニが、当局に拘束された際に死亡している。
　しかし、これらの事案をめぐっては、数十件の調査や検視、時には職権乱用の証拠映像がある場合でも、当局関者らが訴追されたケースは皆無となっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/06/08-13:12）

Tens of thousands of Australians defied government calls to stay at home Saturday by spilling onto the streets for Black Lives Matter protests in major towns and cities across the country.
Marchers in Sydney, Melbourne and elsewhere rejected arguments from law enforcement and conservative leaders that mass protests could fuel the spread of coronavirus.
A court on Friday declared the Sydney protest illegal on health grounds, although the ruling was overturned by an appeals court minutes before the march was due to start.
The fact that they have tried to push us all back and stop the protest, it makes people want to do it even more, said Jumikah Donovan, one of thousands who turned up thinking the ban was still in place.
The Sydney march was largely peaceful, although one All Lives Matter counter-protester was taken away by police.
Demonstrators brandished signs that read I can't breathe, a nod to the last words of African-American man George Floyd, whose death while being arrested has sparked civil rights protests around the world.
Another read: Same story, different soil.
The movement has resonated strongly with many in Australia -- a country also wrestling with the legacy of a racist past.
Organisers said they hoped to highlight the high rates of imprisonment among Aboriginal Australians and large number of deaths in custody of indigenous people -- more than 400 in the last three decades.
No prosecutions have been brought despite dozens of investigations, inquests and in some cases video evidence of abuse.
Many of the protesters wore face masks, brought hand sanitiser and tried to social distance as best they could.
There are things in the world that need to be addressed, said Fay Goli. If one person can stand, that's great, but if a majority can stand together there will be a stronger voice for change.
Australia has seen a sustained drop in the number of COVID-19 cases, but social distancing rules remain in force and mass gatherings are not permitted.
Police are prepared for anybody that wants to just flout the law, New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott told media before the rallies.
Protesters in Melbourne were warned they could face fines for attending a rally if social distancing was not observed, although police appeared not to be enforcing those rules.
The day before the protests Prime Minister Scott Morrison had urged people to stay home.
Let's find a better way and another way to express these sentiments rather than putting your own health at risk, Morrison said.
He admitted there was more to be done to address indigenous inequality, but rejected parallels with the United States.
Australia is not other places, so let's deal with this as Australians and not appropriate what's happening in other countries to our country at this time.