In late 1999, a delegation led by Indigenous leader Patrick Dodson visited the UK to promote reconciliation. Blair's government faced intense lobbying from Australia, emphasizing the need to avoid engagement with the delegation. John Sawers, Blair's foreign affairs adviser, noted concerns about the representation of Indigenous people as troublemakers, likening it to controversial political meetings. The reaction included suggestions to claim scheduling conflicts to avoid the meeting. Additionally, the Australian High Commission raised alarms over potential calls for an apology from the British crown regarding historical injustices towards Indigenous Australians.
The Australians are pretty wound up about the idea of you seeing the Aborigines at all, Sawers wrote in a note to Blair. Their high commissioner rang me to press you not to see them: they were troublemakers.
We are not certain of the message it will deliver, but it is unlike anything we have had before regarding reconciliation.
Can't we plead diary problems? This suggests a level of desperation to avoid engagement with the delegation.
During the same trip, Dodson met Queen Elizabeth II as part of a larger effort to foster reconciliation.
#indigenous-rights #reconciliation #australia-uk-relations #political-lobbying #historical-relations
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