Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's nephew has been moved on and fined by police after donning a Ku Klux Klan hood for a bizarre anti-racism protest outside the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park.
Artist Van Thanh Rudd and a friend said they donned the white outfits as a high-profile Australia Day protest against attacks on Indian nationals in Australia and the Federal Government's support for "genocidal regimes".
He accused the Federal Government of hypocrisy for rejecting refugees fleeing those regimes.
"The Australian Government is supporting governments like the Sri Lankan government, for example, in preventing Sri Lankan Tamils from escaping the Sri Lankan government," he said.
"Australia funds the genocidal Sri Lankan regime and then rejects the refugees who flee. In this country you could not get away with doing that against whites. So they're the basic reasons we're having the protest today."
Van Thanh Rudd said he chose Melbourne Park as a place that would get significant attention on Australia Day.
"I wanted to find a place that means a lot to people on Australia Day and also it being an area that's quite central in Melbourne ... also, in terms of making a theatrical sort of performance in this protest, it wouldn't be too hard hopefully to get a bit of attention," he said.
"I'm pretty certain [the public] won't like it too much - the aim is to create a bit of a scene, not by creating any violence or anything of course, but just parade about a bit.
"And we did not ask for permission to do it, so I guess we fully knew that it may only last 10 minutes."
Van Thanh Rudd is notorious for bold public statements in his artwork, including a painting which was banned by Melbourne City Council depicting Ronald McDonald running with the Olympic torch past a burning monk.
His works also include graffiti art and the $1.2 billion-priced 'Used Car from Afghanistan' - a piece containing a small piece of an Afghan civilian car, destroyed by an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) missile in southern Afghanistan.
The two protesters were issued with an on-the-spot fine for offensive behaviour, but police have not confirmed how much the fine was for.
The protest came as Kevin Rudd welcomed new Australians at an Australia Day ceremony in Canberra, telling them they were becoming citizens not of "the lucky country" but of "the country which we have built together".
A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister's office said: "It's a matter for the people involved."
Several weeks ago Victoria Police reacted angrily to a cartoon in an Indian newspaper depicting one of the state's officers as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
India's The Delhi Mail Today newspaper published the cartoon in response to the murder of Indian student Nitin Garg in Melbourne in early January.
The Indian media has suggested the attack may have been racially motivated, but Melbourne police say there is no evidence of that.
Today Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes said Australians are not racist people, but called for "pockets of racism" to be tackled "head on".
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/26/2801435.htm
Video: Rudd's nephew in anti-racism protest (ABC News)
Van Thanh Rudd, an artist notorious for bold public statements, and another man were taken away in a police van.
James Crafti, a fellow member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party, says there was "absolutely no struggle" from the protesters.
"But they have been told they will be receiving fines of $200 for supposedly inciting a riot," he said.
Mr Crafti says the protesters were simply practicing free speech like other Australians.
"There were two people holding costumes and several others of us who were holding signs," he said.
"We've got people around the streets of Melbourne today waving around Australian flags, waving patriotic symbols.
"If you want to talk about inciting, that sort of thing would incite Indigenous people and make a lot of people upset."
Mr Crafti says as far as he is aware, Van Thanh Rudd and his uncle, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, are not in regular contact.
"They're not estranged in any sense, but Van is very much his own person and has very different views in terms of the racism of this country," he said.
Van Thanh Rudd said today's protest was aimed at recent attacks on Indian nationals and the Federal Government's support for "genocidal regimes".
"The Australian Government is supporting governments like the Sri Lankan government, for example, in preventing Sri Lankan Tamils from escaping the Sri Lankan government," he said.
"Australia funds the genocidal Sri Lankan regime and then rejects the refugees who flee. In this country you could not get away with doing that against whites. So they're the basic reasons we're having the protest today."
A painting by Van Thanh Rudd depicting Ronald McDonald running with the Olympic torch past a burning monk has previously been banned by Melbourne City Council.
His works also include graffiti art and the $1.2 billion 'Used Car from Afghanistan' - a piece containing a small piece of an Afghan civilian car, destroyed by a NATO missile in southern Afghanistan.
Van Thanh Rudd said he chose Melbourne Park for today's protest because it gets significant attention on Australia Day.
A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd says his nephew's protest "is a matter for the people involved".
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/26/2801852.htm?section=justin
Artist Van Thanh Rudd and a friend said they donned the white outfits as a high-profile Australia Day protest against attacks on Indian nationals in Australia and the Federal Government's support for "genocidal regimes".
He accused the Federal Government of hypocrisy for rejecting refugees fleeing those regimes.
"The Australian Government is supporting governments like the Sri Lankan government, for example, in preventing Sri Lankan Tamils from escaping the Sri Lankan government," he said.
"Australia funds the genocidal Sri Lankan regime and then rejects the refugees who flee. In this country you could not get away with doing that against whites. So they're the basic reasons we're having the protest today."
Van Thanh Rudd said he chose Melbourne Park as a place that would get significant attention on Australia Day.
"I wanted to find a place that means a lot to people on Australia Day and also it being an area that's quite central in Melbourne ... also, in terms of making a theatrical sort of performance in this protest, it wouldn't be too hard hopefully to get a bit of attention," he said.
"I'm pretty certain [the public] won't like it too much - the aim is to create a bit of a scene, not by creating any violence or anything of course, but just parade about a bit.
"And we did not ask for permission to do it, so I guess we fully knew that it may only last 10 minutes."
Van Thanh Rudd is notorious for bold public statements in his artwork, including a painting which was banned by Melbourne City Council depicting Ronald McDonald running with the Olympic torch past a burning monk.
His works also include graffiti art and the $1.2 billion-priced 'Used Car from Afghanistan' - a piece containing a small piece of an Afghan civilian car, destroyed by an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) missile in southern Afghanistan.
The two protesters were issued with an on-the-spot fine for offensive behaviour, but police have not confirmed how much the fine was for.
The protest came as Kevin Rudd welcomed new Australians at an Australia Day ceremony in Canberra, telling them they were becoming citizens not of "the lucky country" but of "the country which we have built together".
A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister's office said: "It's a matter for the people involved."
Several weeks ago Victoria Police reacted angrily to a cartoon in an Indian newspaper depicting one of the state's officers as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
India's The Delhi Mail Today newspaper published the cartoon in response to the murder of Indian student Nitin Garg in Melbourne in early January.
The Indian media has suggested the attack may have been racially motivated, but Melbourne police say there is no evidence of that.
Today Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes said Australians are not racist people, but called for "pockets of racism" to be tackled "head on".
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/26/2801435.htm
Video: Rudd's nephew in anti-racism protest (ABC News)
- Rudd's nephew fined for 'inciting riot'
Van Thanh Rudd, an artist notorious for bold public statements, and another man were taken away in a police van.
James Crafti, a fellow member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party, says there was "absolutely no struggle" from the protesters.
"But they have been told they will be receiving fines of $200 for supposedly inciting a riot," he said.
Mr Crafti says the protesters were simply practicing free speech like other Australians.
"There were two people holding costumes and several others of us who were holding signs," he said.
"We've got people around the streets of Melbourne today waving around Australian flags, waving patriotic symbols.
"If you want to talk about inciting, that sort of thing would incite Indigenous people and make a lot of people upset."
Mr Crafti says as far as he is aware, Van Thanh Rudd and his uncle, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, are not in regular contact.
"They're not estranged in any sense, but Van is very much his own person and has very different views in terms of the racism of this country," he said.
Van Thanh Rudd said today's protest was aimed at recent attacks on Indian nationals and the Federal Government's support for "genocidal regimes".
"The Australian Government is supporting governments like the Sri Lankan government, for example, in preventing Sri Lankan Tamils from escaping the Sri Lankan government," he said.
"Australia funds the genocidal Sri Lankan regime and then rejects the refugees who flee. In this country you could not get away with doing that against whites. So they're the basic reasons we're having the protest today."
A painting by Van Thanh Rudd depicting Ronald McDonald running with the Olympic torch past a burning monk has previously been banned by Melbourne City Council.
His works also include graffiti art and the $1.2 billion 'Used Car from Afghanistan' - a piece containing a small piece of an Afghan civilian car, destroyed by a NATO missile in southern Afghanistan.
Van Thanh Rudd said he chose Melbourne Park for today's protest because it gets significant attention on Australia Day.
A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd says his nephew's protest "is a matter for the people involved".
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