AUSTRALIA:A tent city has sprung up near Australia's national parliament as Aborigines arrive in the capital to hear the government apologise for past injustices against indigenous children and families. Organisers expect about 2,000 Aborigines from around the nation to camp on the lawns and gardens of parliament to hear prime minister Kevin Rudd apologise tomorrow for past policies of taking Aboriginal children from their families.
The apology ends an 11-year wait for Aborigines and members of the so-called "stolen generation" of indigenous children, and follows the key recommendation of a 1997 report into the old assimilation policies.
"Saying sorry, it will make them feel better. That's all they want to hear, sorry from the Australian government, before they die," Aboriginal elder Yami Lestersaid.
Former conservative prime minister John Howard refused to apologise, but issued a statement of regret for the old policies, saying current generations should not be responsible for actions of past governments. Mr Howard will not attend the apology.
