Protesters clashed with police in Australia after the arrest of a suspected killer of an Aboriginal girl
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Hundreds of protesters clashed with emergency workers in a remote Australian town following the arrest of a man accused of killing a five-year-old Aboriginal girl, police said on Friday.
Australia’s prime minister, the Northern Territory police commissioner and a spokesman for the victim’s family all appealed for calm after an angry mob of about 400 indigenous people gathered on Thursday night at the hospital where the suspect was taken after being beaten by locals and knocked unconscious.
Jefferson Lewis, 47, who is believed by police to have abducted and killed a girl, surrendered at one of the town’s camps in Alice Springs, Northern Territory Police Commissioner Martin Dole said at a press conference.
“Because of the self-presentation, the members of that city camp decided to do justice to Jefferson,” he said.
The girl, now known by her family as Kumanjayi Little Baby in accordance with traditional customs, went missing from her home on the outskirts of Alice Springs on Saturday.
His body was found on Thursday by one of hundreds of people searching the densely populated area around the town, a popular tourist destination in Australia’s Northern Territory.
Lewis, who was identified by police as a suspect earlier in the week, has been convicted of assault and has just been released from prison.
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A crowd of about 400 people later gathered outside the Alice Springs hospital where Lewis was being treated, trying to force their way in, Dole said in a separate interview with public broadcaster ABC.
Footage from the ABC showed Aboriginal people demanding payment, a reference to traditional punishment, mostly corporal, in Aboriginal communities.
The police fired tear gas to disperse the angry crowd, threw projectiles and set fires, injuring dozens of police and medical personnel, destroying police cars, ambulances and fire trucks.
“There is no excuse for violence against emergency workers who are just doing their job,” said Dole.
“I’m asking for peace in the community today … I like to think that what we saw last night was disobedience.”
Lewis, who is Aboriginal, was flown to the regional capital Darwin early on Friday for safety, Dole said. You will probably be charged in the coming days.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he understood “people’s anger and frustration” but urged the public to come together.
Robin Granites, an Aboriginal elder and family spokesperson, also called for a ban.
“This man has been arrested, thanks to public action, and we must now let justice take its course while we take time to mourn Kumanjayi Little Baby and support our family,” he said in a statement.
“Now is not the time to be social media heroes or cause problems.”
After the violent incident, a day-long alcohol ban will be in place and extra police will be arriving from Darwin, Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro said.
Alcohol restrictions are enforced in the city on certain days of the week in an effort to reduce crime.
Australia has struggled for decades to reconcile with its Aboriginal people, who have lived on the land for some 50,000 years but were marginalized by British colonial rulers.
Indigenous Australians make up about 3.8 percent of Australia’s nearly 27 million people, but they trail closely on all economic and social indicators and have disproportionately high rates of suicide and incarceration.
Thousands, including the victim and his family, live in communities known as camps on the outskirts of Alice Springs, where housing and services are often inadequate.
