Australian Indigenous leaders vow silence after landmark referendum defeat
By Praveen Menon
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian Indigenous leaders called on Sunday for a week of silence and reflection after a referendum to recognise the First Peoples in the constitution was decisively rejected by a majority of the population.
More than 60% of Australians voted «No» in the landmark referendum on Saturday, the first in almost a quarter of a century, that asked whether to alter the constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people through the creation of an Indigenous advisory body, the «Voice to Parliament», that can advise parliament on matters concerning the community.
The outcome is a major setback for reconciliation efforts with the country's Indigenous community, and also damages Australia's image in the world regarding how it treats First Nations people.
Unlike other nations with similar histories such as Canada and New Zealand, Australia has not yet formally recognised or reached a treaty with its First Peoples.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people make up 3.8% of Australia's 26 million population and have inhabited the country for about 60,000 years. But they are not mentioned in the constitution and by most socio-economic measures are the most disadvantaged people in the country.
«This is a bitter irony. That people who have only been on this continent for 235 years would refuse to recognise those whose home this land has been for 60,000 and more years is beyond reason,» the leaders said in a statement that was released on social media platforms.
The leaders said they would lower the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flag to half-mast for the week and urged others to do the same.
Australian Indigenous leader and former national rugby union player Lloyd Walker said the
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