Indigenous protestors in Australia set ablaze the old parliament building in the capital Canberra on Thursday by protesters during a demonstration for Aboriginal sovereignty, the BBC has reported.
Indigenous campaigners have been holding demonstrations in the lead-up to the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the former parliament’s front lawns.
The flames that engulfed the parliament’s front doors were put off leaving no one injured.
It follows a fortnight of protest activity at the site, police said.
“The current residents of the building, the Museum of Australian Democracy, had on 20 December shut its doors after indigenous protesters held a “peaceful sit-in”. It has not yet addressed Thursday’s protest”. Quoted the BBC website.
Government leaders condemned the attack on Thursday, with several describing it as an “attack on democracy”.
“Setting fire to a building is not a lawful protest, it is a crime and a serious one,” tweeted the deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce.
