Last week local Ngunnawal people led by a representative of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Commission (ATSIC), burnt down the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra - an action that has sharpened divisions between Aboriginal groups. One Aboriginal elder said that their intentions are to clean up the site and make the Aboriginal community proud. But supporters of the Tent Embassy suggest they are working for the government, which has wanted to see the vivid symbol of Aboriginal disadvantage torn down. The Supreme Court put a stop to the destruction by serving a seven-day injunction on the matter. When the injunction ends on November 7 the Tent Embassy supporters will seek an extension. If the extension does not go through the protesting group will continue to dismantle the site.
