Forgot your password?
Julia Gillard 'Rescued' Amid Australia Day Protests
BBC NEWS, ASIA
January 26, 2012: Australian PM Julia Gillard and leader of the opposition Tony Abbott had to be rescued after becoming trapped by an angry protest, local media reports. About 50 police escorted the pair from Canberra's Lobby restaurant after some 200 supporters of the city’s Aboriginal Tent Embassy surrounded it.
The pair had been at a ceremony for the inaugural National Emergency Medals. The honors - presented as the country marked Australia Day - were introduced to recognize those who served their communities during events such as the 2009 bushfires in Victoria and the floods in Queensland in 2010 and 2011.
But Australia's newspapers reported that riot police were called to the restaurant at about 14:30 local time as protesters gathered outside, with people banging on the glass yelling "shame" and "racist".
Ms Gillard and Mr Abbott were reportedly forced to wait 20 minutes before police escorted them through a side door. According to the BBC's Duncan Kennedy, chaos ensued as a bodyguard grabbed Ms Gillard by the shoulders and shoved her into a waiting car.
The prime minister appeared to have stumbled in the process and was missing a shoe. Protesters continued to bang on the car's roof and the bonnet as it sped off.
Supporters had gathered for a three-day Corroborree for Sovereignty to mark the 40th anniversary of the tent embassy. Media reports suggested some had been angered by Mr Abbott's suggestion in a TV interview that it was "time to move on" from the camp in light of current plans to recognize indigenous people in the country's constitution. Mr Abbott had reportedly angered them by suggesting it was time for the camp - marking its 40th year - to come down.
Four men established the tent embassy in 1972 as a protest against the prime minister of the time's refusal to acknowledge indigenous land rights.
