Along with hundreds of other anti-war and Indigenous activists I joined the Close Pine Gap Sacred Land Back Convergence at Mparntwe/Alice Springs  over July 18-21. The organisers had expected around 150 attendees from around the country, but 600-700 actually came.

The weekend was spent joining in a series of forums, meetings and musical events, discussing the struggle to shut down the Pine Gap US military base over more than 50 years, since it was established in the 1960s.

The event was organised by Mparntwe for Falastin (Palestine) (MFF), which was formed in the Northern Territory after Israel’s attack on Gaza in October 2023, and Naarm/Melbourne-based group, Anti-Militarism Action Network.

The groups hosted a series of public discussions on the impacts of colonisation in Australia, foreign policy, military spending and the government’s alliance with the United States.

“We are a local community concerned about a foreign military surveillance base, located a 15 minute drive from town, which Arrernte custodians want closed. We are aiming to contribute to a national debate, and we will continue to oppose genocide and colonisation here and abroad,” the organisers stated.

The organisers want to help build a national anti-war campaign to close the base down.

Felicity Hayes, one of the Arrernte traditional owners of Kuyunba, the land Pine Gap occupies, welcomed us with a smoking ceremony on July 18.

“This Pine Gap has been going on too long. Some of our sacred paintings have been stolen. Part of our art work has been chiselled out by somebody. We want them to bring it back home. The US is using Australia for just killing people. We are so sorry about that. We want our land back. We want to close down Pine Gap,” Hayes said.

The Arrernte people were not consulted in 1962 when the Australian government seized their land to construct the base.

The Traditional Owners have not been allowed back on their land for more than 60........

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