Thousands flood Belarus capital as detained protesters freed

https://eng.belta.by/all-rubric-news/viewSuzet/presidential-elections-in-belarus-48/

Tens of thousands of people have marched in a fresh show of anger over the brutal police crackdown following the contested Belarusian election result. Many of the detained protesters say they were beaten in custody.

Belarusian authorities began releasing hundreds of detained demonstrators who had taken to the streets following Sunday's disputed presidential election result, with the Interior Ministry vowing to release all the protesters by Friday morning.

The release came ahead of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers later on Fridaywhere they gave the green light to sanctions against the Belarusian leadership in response to its crackdown on post-election protests.

Nearly 7,000 people have been reportedly detained since Sunday night, according to official figures, and at least two people have died in the violent crackdown following strongman Alexander Lukashenko's re-election.
Images of battered prisoners 

Hundreds of relatives and friends stood outside one detention center in Minsk during the early hours to give food and blankets to those emerging from custody.

Footage of the released protesters in front of a detention center showed some of them had large bruises on their backs and legs.

Belarusian activist Franak Viacorka told DW that detainees were being "kept outside, sleeping on asphalt and being beaten every day and every night," adding that he heard about some people being carried away unconscious in ambulances.

A released demonstrator told news cameras outside the detention center that authorities "beat everyone" from teenagers to elderly people.

"Everyone got detained, even if you just came out of a shop to see what's going on and got arrested," they added.

Other released detainees claimed they had been beaten and deprived of food and water.

Belarusian Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Barsukov has denied the prisoners were abused.


A woman reacts as she is released from a Minsk detention center in the early hours of Friday

'Insincere' apology

On Thursday evening, the Interior Ministry issued an apology to bystanders who were injured during the crackdown — a move that came after intense pressure from the EU. The ministry added 1,000 detainees would be set free.

Interior Minister Yuri Karayev went on state television to apologize for the arrests, but Belarusian activist Viacorka told DW that Karayev's words were "absolutely insincere" and were only made because of "international pressure."

"They released some of the prisoners to appease the opposition and stop the protests," he said, adding that even as the apology was made people were still being beaten in the detention centers, which he referred to as "concentration camps."

Read more: German Foreign Minister Maas vows to ramp up pressure on Belarus
Top challenger calls for peaceful protest

On Friday, top opposition challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya encouraged mayors across Belarus to organize peaceful protests against the result of the election, while urging an end to the violence.

Speaking in a YouTube video, she also asked the Belarusian people to sign a petition demanding an official investigation into voter fraud and demanding a recount.

Tsikhanouskaya fled to neighboring Lithuania on Tuesday following the election out of fear for her safety.

A new round of protests began in Minsk on Friday. By early evening, more than 20,000 protesters filled central Independence Square.

About a dozen soldiers guarding the nearby government headquarters lowered their shields and, seeing it as a sign of solidarity, demonstrators embraced and kissed the guards.

Earlier, police didn't interfere as the protesters marched across Minsk.

Lukashenko cautioned people against turning out for the protests, saying Belarus is facing foreign "aggression."

"Don't get out into the streets. You should understand that you and your children are being used as cannon fodder,'' he said, adding: "Do you want me to sit and wait until they turn Minsk upside down?... We must take a break, collect ourselves and calm down. And let us restore order and deal with those who have come here."

He instructed officials, however, to avoid excessive force. "If a person falls down and lies still, don't beat him!'' Lukashenko said.

This is an updated version of a previous article

Belarus opposition leader: This freedom 'can't be broken with police batons'

https://eng.belta.by/all-rubric-news/viewSuzet/presidential-elections-in-belarus-48/

After days of violent protests against authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, DW spoke to opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova about Belarus' political future — and her hope that the country will never be the same.



Maria Kolesnikova is one of a three opposition leaders who have been pushing to oust longtime president Alexander Lukashenko. She is a close ally of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a former English teacher who ran for president on a platform of holding new free and fair elections.
Read more: EU foreign ministers green light new Belarus sanctions

Kolesnikova headed the campaign of opposition candidate Viktor Babariko, who was arrested on fraud charges critics say were politically motivated. Kolesnikova spoke with DW at Babariko's campaign office.

DW: You consider Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya to be the democratically elected president of Belarus, even though the Central Electoral Commission has just announced that she only received just over 10% of the vote according to their final count. Why is that?


'Like the majority of Belarusians, I consider that Sviatlana won these elections': Kolesnikova

Just like the majority of Belarusians, I consider that Sviatlana won these elections. It's another question that the elections weren't honest from the beginning. And, of course, the current acting president is not legitimate.

We know that Sviatlana got the majority of the votes. The reaction of the citizens of our country to the lies that the Central Electoral Commission is putting out show that as well. When they say that the acting president allegedly received 80% of the votes, that is a total lie. If that were true, the government wouldn't have to fight against its own people for five days in a row, they wouldn't have to drown the people's dissent in blood.

On social media, some people have condemned the fact that Tsikhanouskaya left the country this week, calling her actions a betrayal. What do you think about that?


I don't think her actions were a betrayal. I think all of Sviatlana's actions in the past three months have been heroic. I personally completely support Sviatlana. My team supports her decision.


Read more: Optimism for Belarus 'is now gone' — Norway's top diplomat


It's anyone's guess what she might have been discussing for three hours with high-ranking officials from the security services, when she actually came to the offices of the Central Electoral Commission in order to lodge a complaint [about the election results — Editor's note].


There has been unprecedented pressure on Sviatlana for the past three months and the government was clearly trying to put her under pressure in this case as well. That is why I support Sviatlana — I tell her that she is a hero.



Protesters have taken to the street of Belarus calling on Lukashenko to 'Go away!'


Two of your closest allies, Tsikhanouskaya and Veronika Tsepkalo [the wife of Valery Tsepkalo, an opposition candidate who fled the country ahead of the elections — Editor's note] have left Belarus. You are the only one from the united opposition campaign who has remained in the country. And you were arrested just before election day, then the authorities said they had arrested the wrong person and let you go. Are you not afraid that you could be arrested again — and that you might not be let out so quickly?


Read more: Svetlana Tikhanovskaya: The teacher challenging Lukashenko


From the first day when I started working on this campaign three months ago, I have been under no illusions about what the acting government is capable of and what could happen. Now is a really difficult moment in Belarusian history, and every Belarusian is in the same situation as I am. Anyone can be arrested on the street, in the entryway to their apartments or even at home.


But knowing that doesn't stop me or scare me. I know that the changes that are happening in Belarusian society can no longer be reversed. That means we have already won. It will just take some time for the changes taking place to evolve within society.



Tsepkalo (left) and Tsikhanouskaya (middle) have left Belarus while Kolesnikova is still in the country

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has published a video address in which she called on the mayors of Belarusian cities to organize public meetings with people this weekend. You recently talked about the same thing. What do you expect to come out of these meetings?

These meetings are a legal way for the citizens of all the cities of Belarus to go to a legal demonstration without having the threat of being beaten up hanging over them. Why do we need these meetings? We are trying to initiate dialogue between Belarusian civil society and the government. They need to hear what their people are saying.

During the presidential campaign, you were one of the figures uniting Belarusians who want change. But during the spontaneous protests, you and other opposition figures seem to have become observers rather than protest leaders. Do you agree?

That's hard to say. From the beginning of our campaign, we all agreed that we would not call on people to take to the streets and that we wouldn't organize protests.

But what is happening now is probably the direct result of our work. Over the past three months, we have managed to do what everyone else failed to do for the past 26 years. We have managed to consolidate people around us, around our ideas, around our principles. We managed to give people the belief that they can change their own future. That is actually much more important than organizing a demonstration.

I personally attended the protests, I saw what horrible violence people have faced, how they were beaten, how they were stuffed into police vans and cars. We hope that the government will hear people's demands and will stop using force against them. But we don't have any illusions. We don't know what will happen today, tomorrow or the day after. We are calling for [calm from] all sides.

The representatives of the security forces are responsible for the violence. They should know that everything is being documented, that in the internet era it is impossible to hide anything. These people have to go home to their families, their children have to go to school with the children of people they beat and dragged into police cars. They need to know that and need to stop their violence if they want to live in a peaceful Belarus. We are prepared for dialogue with anyone who is prepared to sit down and talk, including with representatives of the government and the security forces.

Kolesnikova said she is prepared to talk to anyone interested in peace

Can you still imagine a scenario in which things go back to how they were in Belarus?

In the past three months, I have seen new Belarusians. I see how we have all changed, together. I see hope in people's eyes. People believe that they can change things. For the first time in many years, maybe even decades or centuries, Belarusians feel freedom and dignity. And that can't be broken with police batons. That is the birth of a nation. It makes me happy to be a Belarusian.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

DW RECOMMENDS
Belarus protests: Women line the streets of Minsk to protest Lukashenko's crackdown

Brutal police crackdowns in Belarus prompted hundreds of women to protest in Minsk. France's Emmanuel Macron raised the issue of "violence" with Russia's Vladimir Putin. The UN has joined the chorus of disapproval.

Relatives desperate as Belarus police arrest thousands

All over Belarus, people are frantically trying to find out what has happened to relatives and friends arrested as the government cracks down on anti-government protests. DW tells three of their stories.

Thousands flood Belarus capital as detained protesters freed

Tens of thousands of people have marched in a fresh show of anger over the brutal police crackdown following the contested Belarusian election result. Many of the detained protesters say they were beaten in custody.

AUDIOS AND VIDEOS ON THE TOPIC
Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 'was under pressure,' Lithuania FM tells DW

Photo of the US Navy accidentally revealed a combat laser on a submarine

By TOC On Jul 27, 2020

WASHINGTON, (BM) – The US Navy released a photo of the Minnesota nuclear submarine in connection with the gratitude from the command, earned by its crew, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing news agency RG.

Read more: The United States Begin to Develop the Anti-laser Weapon System

But the most interesting thing in the photo is not the brave submariners, but a strange-looking weapon on the chest of one of them [a man in a mask on the left in the picture]. At first glance, it looks like a rifle with an optical sight [an unusual weapon for a submariner, you must agree].

Photo credit: U.S. Navy

If you look closely, it becomes clear that the sight is fixed on a frame with a stock, and a cylindrical device is installed in front of it, resembling the same sight, only enlarged one and a half times. This is a B. E. Meyers Glare LA-9 / P non-lethal combat laser used to temporarily blind an enemy.

The Naval Bulletin calls the device an “optical distractor” and describes its purpose as: giving the target an opportunity to clarify intent; unambiguous non-verbal warning; temporary suppression of the enemy’s visual perception by powerful flashes.

As you know, submarines are most vulnerable on the surface. As soon as the submarine emerges, a sailor from the outpost armed with Glare ascends the bridge with the commander.

If a swimmer or a vessel tries to approach the ship with unknown targets, a warning flash is sent in his direction, understandable without an interpreter. At the same time Glare is a humane weapon.

Read more: The U.S. Navy tests laser weapon against drone (video)

The built-in laser rangefinder determines the distance to the target and turns off the radiation if there is a risk of damage to the retina. As soon as the target leaves the danger zone, the laser resumes.

The handheld dazzler is capable of sending light signals 4 kilometers at night and 1.5 kilometers during the day. In the meantime, the US Navy deployed a much more powerful stationary laser on one of the frigates, designed for the same purpose. It is called ODIN.

If you are sailing next to a US Navy ship and suddenly get hit in the eyes with a green flash – turn to the side. Otherwise, a machine gun burst may follow, advises The Drive.

About B. E. Meyers Glare LA-9 / P

For long-distance hail and warning, especially during maritime security, the GLARE® LA-9/P combines a powerful green beam with Eye Safe® technology.

The laser rapidly determines if an unintended observer is within the nominal ocular hazard distance (NOHD) and immediately shuts off the glaring output to prevent accidental eye injury. Once the bystander has moved out of the NOHD, the laser output instantly resumes.

The GLARE LA-9/P (NSN: 5860-01-613-1742) has been replaced by the LA-22/U (NSN: 5860-01-657-3893) for the USMC Ocular Interruption System (OIS) Program.

Read more: Seven US Navy warships will receive laser weapon to use it against Asian enemies

Warnings can be sent out to 4 km at night and 1.5 km during daylight. Offensive glaring is achievable out to 500m to hinder and prevent further aggression. In theater, GLARE lasers have been proven to save lives of both civilians and soldiers by providing a rapid warning method across cultural and linguistic boundaries.

BulgarianMilitary.com
Editorial team

How the security forces suppress protests in Belarus?

https://eng.belta.by/all-rubric-news/viewSuzet/presidential-elections-in-belarus-48/

By TOC On Aug 11, 2020

This post was published in Infosecurity24. The point of view expressed in this article is authorial and do not necessarily reflect BM`s editorial stance.

***

WARSAW, (BM) – Protests began in many cities in Belarus shortly after the elections on the evening of August 9-10 and continued on the second day. The most tense situation was in the Belarusian capital, where the security forces used water cannons, tear gas and stun grenades. On the second day of the protests, the first death toll was recorded.

The Ministry of the Interior of Belarus (Belarusian MUS) published a statement: “On the night of August 9-10, 2020, clusters of people were registered in the country near polling stations and in central squares in 33 towns. In total, about 3 were detained for participating in unsanctioned mass gatherings. thousand people throughout the country – about 1,000 in Minsk and over 2,000 in other regions of the republic.” On the evening of the second day after the elections, the protests continued and the security forces were better prepared.

The authorities made sure to bring large security forces to Minsk, but they probably underestimated the scale of the protests. The core of the intervention and order forces were the compact militia unit – OMON – equipped with shields, helmets, body guards, supported by special vehicles with water cannons. Later, additional forces were brought to the streets of Minsk in the form of compact units of the Internal Forces of the Ministry of the Interior. There was a lack of coordination among the protesters, which in turn facilitated the pacification of the crowd in certain places.

On the post-election evening, August 9-10, initially the security forces were weak in many places (one line of the OMON), the officers densely covered themselves with bang grenades (P1 grenades of Czech production). Over time, after reinforcements arrived, demonstrators began to be pushed back and dispersed in key places in the city center. Protesters built makeshift barricades, attacked the security forces with stones, paving stones, sticks, rails, etc., on the second day they started using “Molotov cocktails”.

In the face of many victims injured by shrapnel, rubber bullets, blast grenades, beaten and injured with the use of tear gas (it was used, for example, on Niamidze), the medical security of the capital turned out to be insufficient. According to the protesters, the Minsk ambulance service was bringing additional ambulances to the center, and rescuers used replacement dressings, e.g. adhesive tape. There were probably – by estimation – at least several dozen injured, we are talking about even 120 injured. One of the protesters was said to have been run over by a police truck with the fatal result, but later found out he was alive.

The injured were also among the security forces. The injuries mainly concerned OMON-U, about 25 officers [most of them had injuries to their arms and legs]. According to the release, medical assistance was provided to 39 security forces and 50 civilians, i.e. demonstrators [the latter number seems to be understated].

The soldiers of the WW MSW also suffered, which is confirmed by the use of the internal troops in the pacification of the demonstration. A large branch of the WW MSW was to come in about 20 trucks, near Storożewska Street. The unit was prepared to support OMON – the soldiers had helmets, armor, bracers, leg guards, etc., typical for breaking the crowd. The WW troops dispersed the crowd on an important section – the intersection of Storożewska Street and Maszerowo prospect (the demonstrators scattered).

Firearms were not used on the night of August 9-10, but it is possible that there were special units armed with firearms (e.g. snipers) in reserve, similarly to the Ukrainian Maidan. On the other hand, special forces, most likely SSO MO RB (Special Operations Forces of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Belarus) on the outskirts of Minsk, were fully equipped. They strengthened the militia patrols on the outskirts of the city [Donfeng Mengshi stations with carts, called Bogatyr in Belarus, and popularly “Chinese Humvee”].

The fights on the first day of the protests lasted until 3-4 at night. During the day, special-purpose units appeared in Minsk, more firearms were seen, live ammunition was still not used. On the second day, the fighting concentrated in three places: at the Puszkińska metro station, in front of the Riga shopping center and on Kalwaryjska Street.

One of the sub-units of the special-purpose forces was identified as the elite officer Spetsnaz of the KGB “Alfa”. Another branch of the special forces, captured in the evening in the area of ​​the Puszkińska metro station, may be a sub-unit of the SOBR of the Ministry of the Interior. Officers of the rapid reaction forces subunit are armed, inter alia, Italian Benelli M4 shotguns [from which they shoot blunt ammunition], German MP5 submachine guns with EOTech sights and AK-74 carbines.

As already mentioned, the second day of the protests resulted in a death toll. In the evening, at Prospekt Priteckiego, the crowd erected barricades blocking the traffic, there was a confrontation with a special purpose unit of militia or internal troops, who came to unblock the square. According to the official version, one of the protesters tried to throw an unidentified explosive at the officers but sustained fatal injuries when it exploded in his hand.

So far, there is no reason to believe that the security forces will not be able to cope with the protests and that military units will enter the action. Admittedly, Lukashenka threatened to enter the streets of Minsk by special forces from the 5th Special Purpose Brigade (Special Operations Forces of MO RB), and even subunits of the 120th Mechanized Brigade, but it was probably an element of frightening the opposition and closing the ranks of the security apparatus. Nevertheless, it should be remembered that on July 28, 2020, Lukashenka visited JW 3214 WW Ministry of the Interior in Minsk for a reason, where he watched a demonstration campaign to disperse the crowd of protesters.

It is estimated that if protests take place only in Minsk, the current authorities can rest easy – the militia and OMON forces will be enough to pacify the demonstrations. However, when mass protests “spill over” into provinces, such as cities with a population of 100,000, the forces of regional militia and OMON may be too weak to contain the situation by force. Then Lukashenka will be able to reach for other structures, the so-called power block.

Demonstrations took place in many cities in Belarus, and in Pinsk a number of OMON had to withdraw under the pressure of the crowd. The decisive situation, however, will be the situation in Minsk, where the security forces are brutal and determined to disperse the demonstration. Most (all?) Officers of the power bloc voted for Lukashenka and believe that these are unsanctioned, illegal demonstrations that must be suppressed and distracted. On August 10 in the evening, the head of the Belarusian Interior Ministry, Yury Karajeu, said: “We will not destabilize the situation in Belarus, we have enough resources and resources to do so.”

There is no doubt that so far only part of the security forces have been used in pacification operations. Special units, also with firearms and live ammunition, are hidden in the shadows. There is no doubt that they are in combat readiness. It is worth quoting the words of the head of the KGB, who suggests [rather incorrectly, the opposition did not ask for the protection of the staff] that a unit of 120 officers, probably KGB special forces “Alfa”, was assigned to protect the combined opposition headquarters on the post-election night.

The words about the tactics of using the sub-unit are characteristic: “They [the officers – editor’s note] tried not to attract attention, but their presence was obvious”

BulgarianMilitary.com
Editorial team

Opinion: For Belarus it's now or never

https://eng.belta.by/all-rubric-news/viewSuzet/presidential-elections-in-belarus-48/

The protests in Belarus are not the first against authoritarian ruler Alexander Lukashenko. They are, however, the first in which a majority of citizens has taken to the streets, says DW's Olga Kapustina.



Yes, I voted for Alexander Lukashenko. It was back in 1994 — when I was nine years old. My grandmother took me with her to the voting booth, handed me her pen and told me where to mark the ballot. It was a huge honor. She was convinced that he — someone who seemed so much livelier and down-to-earth than former Soviet rulers — would lead our young republic to a brighter future.

What would my grandmother think if she could see Belarus now, 26 years later, as heavily armed police units beat citizens into submission?

When I saw police beating a man with truncheons as he screamed "Long live the …," kicking him in the face, stomach and back as he lies on the ground writhing in pain and crying, I, too, could not help crying with him

Belarus releases protesters detained during crackdown

Read more: Germany backs Belarus sanctions ahead of EU meeting

The people's courage

At the same time, I am filled with pride and hope when I see how people join arms to form kilometer-long human chains, when musicians sing of electoral fraud, and doctors carry placards reading "Stop the violence!" In doing so, they risk being arrested like the other 6,000 citizens that have been rounded up by authorities since protests began on August 9 — election night. Now that the internet is back online in Belarus, anyone interested can see visual proof of the violence and torture that the regime is meting out on its people.


If Lukashenko is going to hold the people in check he will have to transform the country into a giant gulag in the heart of Europe, writes Olga Kapustina

One such video shows bodies lying side-by-side on the concrete floor of a Minsk prison. The woman filming from her apartment across the street says, "They are being beaten and tortured" — her voice trembles and her smartphone shakes as she documents the scene. Could someone please wake me and tell me this is all just a terrible dream?


Olga Kapustina was born in Belarus in 1985 and has lived in Germany since 2008. She works for DW's Russian editorial team

The Belarusian presidential election itself was like a strange political thriller from the start, one in which a housewife named Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya became the main challenger of an authoritarian president who has ruled the country since independence. Actually, she had no intention of running for office but her husband, an influential blogger who had intended to challenge Lukashenko, is in jail. She decided to run so that she could have him released. But then she suddenly outgrew that role to become the new symbol of protest. Throngs of people across the country began lining up behind her, a woman who always seemed to find the right words, even telling the dictator: "If you love us, let us go."

Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 'was under pressure,' Lithuania FM tells DW

Stop the bloodletting

People in Belarus know that it is now or never for them. Now a new nation is emerging from the blood and pain that has welded them together in solidarity. People in Belarus have set aside their fears and recaptured their sense of dignity. They know that it is up to them to free themselves from dictatorship, otherwise, these protests will be crushed the same way they were in 2001, 2006 and 2010.

The only difference will be that this time there will be far more blood and many more victims — because now the majority of the country's people are aligned against Lukashenko. If he is going to hold the people in check he will have to transform the country into a giant gulag in the heart of Europe.


Striking employees of Minsk Tractor Works carry signs reading "We are neither sheep, nor cattle, nor little people, We are employees of Minsk Tractor Works, And there are not 20, but 16,000 of us!"

Read more: Belarus protests: Women line the streets of Minsk to protest Lukashenko's crackdown

Every day I receive messages from friends back home, telling me: "It feels like rape," "I have a lump in my throat," "Things will never be the same," and asking, "Where is Europe?" After all, Berlin is only 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) from Minsk.

It simply isn't enough for politicians to express deep concern or promise to consider sanctions. The EU must urgently act; it must do something to stop the bloodletting.

Read more: Relatives desperate as Belarus police arrest thousands

Just call Lukashenko

In an interview given three days before the election, Alexander Lukashenko expressed his respect for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, calling her "determined and diligent." He said she was the only Western politician to ever ask him to release political prisoners. Indeed, when Belarus released all of its political prisoners in 2015, sanctions against Lukashenko were quickly lifted.

The other day, I spoke with my six-year-old son about the election. He had asked me who had won, "The man with the mustache or the lady with the dark hair?" I told him, "The man with the mustache but he cheated." To which he replied, "We have to tell him he can't do that. Can we call him? Do you have his number, mommy?" "No, I don't," I answered.

Do you still have his number Mrs. Merkel?

Midnight Oil Return With Politically-Charged ‘Gadigal Land’: Stream It Now

8/7/2020 by Lars Brandle

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Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Peter Garrett, Martin Rotsey, lead guitarist and Bones Hillman, bass guitarist from Midnight Oil perform during The Great Circle 2017 World Tour on Oct. 4, 2017 in Darwin, Australia.

Aussie rockers Midnight Oil are burning again with “Gadigal Land,” their first new song in almost 20 years.

As you would expect from Peter Garrett and Co., this latest number is politically-charged, all the way to the hilt.

The song takes its name from Sydney’s traditional owners. It’s a "provocative recount of what happened in this place, and elsewhere in Australia, since 1788,” reads a statement from Sony Music, the band’s record label.

READ MORE

Midnight Oil's Peter Garrett Talks Reunion Tour, Calls Trump 'Palpably Unfit for Public Office'

Produced by longtime Oils collaborator Warne Livesey, “Gadigal Land” features assists from vocalists Kaleena Briggs, Bunna Lawrie, ARIA Award winner Dan Sultan and a lyrical section penned and performed by Gadigal poet Joel Davison.

It’s lifted from The Makarrata Project, a mini-album of collaborations with Indigenous artists, recorded late last year after the band completed a European tour.

The reconciliation-themed set will be released in late October, and was meant to be launched with a performance at the 2020 edition of Splendour In the Grass, Splendour, however, was canceled due to the health crisis.

The Oils will donate its share of any proceeds it receives from the recording to organizations promoting the 2017’s Uluru Statement, which called for the creation of a “First Nations Voice” enshrined in the Australian Constitution. Sony Music Entertainment Australia has pledged to match any artist contribution.

The ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted rockers will deliver a world premiere “in studio” performance of “Gadigal Land” on Saturday (Aug. 8) during the National Indigenous Music Awards.

Forming in 1972, Midnight Oil went on to become one of Australia’s most popular bands – and most vocal on indigenous rights and anti-war messages, with a long list of muscular songs from "Power And The Passion," "U.S. Forces," "Read About It," "When The Generals Talk" and their biggest international hit, "Beds Are Burning".

Confirmation of their place in the Australian psyche came in 2010 with the publication of the 100 Best Australian Albums, a compendium of homegrown recordings which ranked the Oils' 1987 set Diesel and Dust as No. 1.

The legendary outfit reunited and hit the road in 2017 for their Great Circle comeback tour. "Gadigal Land” is their first studio release since the 2020 LP Capricornia. Stream it below.