There was no indication the protesters planned to disrupt the opening ceremony. The demonstrators gathered at a city park and stopped in front of New South Wales' state parliament house before heading to the Sydney office of Prime Minister John Howard. Howard had enraged Aborigines for his refusal to apologize for past governments' mistreatment of indigenous Australians and for weakening laws recognizing native title to land. Aborigines have lived in Australia for some 40,000 years. After 212 years of white settlement, they are now a minority of around 380,000 in a population of 19 million people.
Indigenous people are Australia's poorest, least healthy and most jailed section of society.
Their life expectancy is an average of 20 years less than that of white Australians. Before the march, New South Wales Police commissioner Peter Ryan, the man in charge of Olympic security, paid a surprise visit to an Aboriginal tent city that has been set up in a Sydney park. Ryan joined with Aboriginal elders in placing eucalyptus branches on a ceremonial fire as a gesture of peace and reconciliation. Ryan appealed for Aboriginal leaders to keep their demonstrations peaceful. Click here for Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Internet Safety Information applicable to this site.