SYDNEY: Indigenous residents forced the closure of Australia’s famed Uluru national park Tuesday, after blocking tourists from accessing the sacred site amid fears over the spread of coronavirus.
About 30 members of the local community physically blocked dozens of tourists arriving from virus-hit eastern Australia from accessing the park entrance, said Glenn Irvine, manager of Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation, which handles local community issues.
Locals said they were blindsided by the arrival of 43 tourists on a flight from Brisbane, Queensland and decided to take action.
“We were of the understanding that the flight was canceled,” Irvine said.
“We asked for the national park to be closed,” he added. When that did not happen, “members of the community gathered at the park gate.”
After crisis talks with local authorities Tuesday, the park remained closed.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park said in a statement: “We have the utmost respect for Uluru-Kata Tjuta’s traditional owners and are continuing to work in good faith with them and all other parties to keep Mutitjulu residents safe.”
More than 395,000 people visited the park in the 12 months to June 2019, according to Parks Australia.
Irvine said there was now tacit agreement that the tourists — who remained nearby — would be tested for the virus and no more groups would come from COVID-19 “hotspots.”
Queensland has recorded just over 1,000 cases of the virus since the pandemic began and new cases have been relatively rare.
But even in areas where tourism is a mainstay of the local economy, many Aboriginal groups are fearful that any outbreak could badly hit remote Outback communities.
Travel to the Northern Territory, including Uluru — once known as Ayer’s Rock — has been severely restricted since the pandemic began.
Those measures were recently eased, but visitors from Australia’s COVID-19 hotpots are still required to quarantine for 14 days.
Brisbane is currently included on that list.
Overseas travelers remain banned from entering Australia except for some very closely prescribed cases.
Australia recorded 453 new cases Tuesday, taking the total to 18,728 with 10,787 recoveries. The death toll is now 232, after 11 more fatalities.
Aboriginal group blocks access to Australia’s Uluru over coronavirus fears
https://arab.news/yv4y6
Aboriginal group blocks access to Australia’s Uluru over coronavirus fears
- Locals said they were blindsided by the arrival of 43 tourists on a flight from Brisbane
- Travel to the Northern Territory, including Uluru, has been severely restricted since the pandemic began
Palestine Action hunger strikers launch legal action against UK govt
- They accuse authorities of abandoning prison safety policies
- Several of the imprisoned activists have been hospitalized
LONDON: Hunger strikers from Palestine Action in the UK have launched legal action against the government, accusing it of abandoning the policy framework for prison safety, The Independent reported.
A pre-action letter was sent to Justice Secretary David Lammy by a legal firm representing the activists.
It came as several imprisoned members of the banned organization — including one who has refused food for 51 days — were hospitalized due to their deteriorating health while on hunger strike.
They say they have sent several letters to Lammy, who is also deputy prime minister, but have received no response.
He was urged in the latest letter to respond within 24 hours as the issue is a “matter of urgency.”
The letter added: “Our clients’ health continues to deteriorate, such that the risk of their dying increases every day.”
An “urgent meeting” is needed “with the proposed defendant to discuss the deterioration of our clients’ health and to discuss attempts to resolve the situation,” it said.
Seven of the Palestine Action prisoners have been admitted to hospital since the hunger strike was launched on Nov. 2, including 30-year-old Amu Gib and Kamran Ahmed, 28.
They are being held in prisons across the country. Two members of the group have been forced to end their hunger strike due to health conditions: Jon Cink, 25, ended on day 41, while 22-year-old Umer Khalid finished on day 13.
Gib, now on day 51, was hospitalized last week and reportedly needs a wheelchair due to health concerns.
Dr. James Smith, an emergency physician, warned journalists last Thursday that some of the imprisoned activists “are dying” and need specialized medical care.
In a letter signed by more than 800 doctors, Smith said the hunger strikers were at “very high risk of serious complications, including organ failure, irreversible neurological damage, cardiac arrhythmias and death.”
The strikers are demanding that Palestine Action, which is classified as a terrorist organization, be de-proscribed.
They are also urging the government to shut down defense companies with ties to Israel, among other demands.
In response to the latest letter, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We strongly refute these claims. We want these prisoners to accept support and get better, and we will not create perverse incentives that would encourage more people to put themselves at risk through hunger strikes.”
