Michael Mansell (activist)

Michael Mansell (born June 1951 in northern Tasmania ) is an Aborigine . He is a lawyer by profession who advocates the social, political and legal rights of the Tasmanians as a political activist . The indigenous people of Tasmania call themselves Palawa ; he himself is descended from the Trawlwoolway on his mother's side and from the Pinterrairer on his father's side . But he also has European ancestors.

Political activities

From a young age, Mansell protested the status and treatment of the Tasmanians. Soon he found that the protests were ineffective and he gave up the radical approach that he and other Aborigines used in the 1970s. Although he had strong support from the indigenous community, his publications and views expressed in the media led to controversy with politicians and commentators in the media. Most of all, he is at odds with the Australian and Tasmanian governments over their demand for Aboriginal sovereignty .

Mansell reported in April 1987 at a Conference on Peace and Revolution in the Pacific in Libya to a large international audience that it was forbidden for Aborigines to enter a pub in Australia and that it used to be there It was customary to kick the head at the burial of Aborigines. These statements were reported in Australian newspapers and it was revealed that Mansell brought the Tasmanian organization into the Mathuba group of Muammar al-Gaddafi , which at the time formed a global network of 87 militias and insurgents. Members of this network were u. a. the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA).

In order to force the international recognition of the indigenous peoples Tasmanians, he issued passports for Aborigines. In 1988 Gaddafi pledged the recognition and declared that it was valid for the trip to Libya.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Center , run by Mansell, is not recognized by the Lia Pootah as representing the interests of the Tasmanians. The Lia Pootah are a group made up of descendants between Tasmanians and Bass Strait white seal hunters .

In February 2008, Mansell said on Australian radio that he was satisfied with the election of the new Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd , as well as his formal public apology to the stolen generation . However, this excuse is not enough, because without real compensation it would only be half-hearted. On the first anniversary of the official apology, Mansell said that the apology has not yet improved the situation of the Aborigines, nor that the government has eliminated the disadvantage of Aboriginal society. He asked for a billion Australian dollars from the Australian government. The Tasmanian government was the only government to donate $ 5 million to compensate for the suffering of children who were taken from their parents.

job

Mansell graduated from the University of Tasmania with a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law . He then took up the profession of a lawyer; defended Aborigines and pursued political reform. He has served as a lawyer in both lower and higher courts and is admitted to the bar in the Supreme Court of Tasmania and the High Court of Australia .

He is chairman and executive director of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Center and secretary of the Aboriginal Provisional Government .

In 1987 Mansell was elected Aboriginal of the Year and he played a decisive role in drafting the land rights treaty of the Native Title Act 1993 , which resulted from the judgment of Mabo v. Queensland (No. 2) based.

Michael Mansell has published publications on the Australian Constitution, Aboriginal rights and their cultural and creative property rights, the Human Genome Project and land rights, and Aboriginal sovereignty.

Web links

• Libyan statements on Aboriginal Passport (English)
• Lia Pootah (English)
• Murdoch University Biography of Michael Mansell (English)
• Mansell on Radio National (English)
• Essay by Michael Mansell: The Court Gives an Inch but takes another Mile (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Desperate Times . Retrieved July 14, 2009.
2. ^ The Palawa Aboriginal People of Tasmania, Australia . Retrieved July 14, 2009.
3. ↑ Michael Mansell - Interview (audio file) . Retrieved July 14, 2009.
4. ↑ Kevin Rudd's apology to the stolen generation ( Memento of the original from February 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved June 14, 2009. 
5. ^ Mansell of Radio National . Retrieved June 14, 2009.
6. ↑ Michael Mansell - Abstract . Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 14, 2009.