A prominent First Nations advocacy group, Fighting In Solidarity Towards Treaties (FISTT), has declared a boycott of news outlets SBS and NITV in demand of unbiased coverage on Palestine.
The group published a statement on their Facebook on 24 May outlining that they would not be holding interviews with the broadcasters until further notice.
The statement declares solidarity with Palestinians and demands Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions of Israel:
“SBS and NITV have a journalistic duty to report non-bias, truthful news to the public and its readers; and the silence from SBS and NITV on Israel’s ethnic-cleansing and genocide regimes against Palestinian peoples is deafening.”
FISTT, which is an initiative aiming to represent and liberate First Nations people, led the thousand-strong Stop Black Deaths in Custody rally in April and the Invasion Day protest at the start of this year which drew over 8,000 attendees.
Members of the group have previously participated in interviews with the boycotted news outlets, particularly for reporting of the Black Lives Matter movement.
FISTT are holding a ‘Gadigal to Gaza Solidarity Rally’ on 6 June to highlight the shared struggles of Indigenous peoples in Australia and in Palestine.
The event description reads: “We demand an end to the genocide and racist apartheid which is being imposed against both communities, and the right to autonomy and sovereignty over land for all First Nations peoples globally.”
FISTT did not provide comment in time for publication.
