Australian songwriter John Schumann has condemned the use of ‘I Was Only Nineteen’, the classic Australian peace anthem he wrote as a member of Adelaide band Redgum in 1983, during a Reclaim Australia rally over the weekend.
As News Corp reports, supporters of Reclaim Australia, who describe themselves as “ordinary Australians” standing against “Halal tax, sharia law [and] Islamisation, held rallies around the country on Saturday.
Speaking to News Corp, Schumann said the song was written to help people understand the plight of Australia Vietnam War veterans, and like his other songs, preached compassion, tolerance, and inclusiveness.
“I am very, very disappointed to see my work co-opted by what I, at my most charitable, consider to be a very confused `patriotic’ movement,” Schumann said in a statement on Sunday.
Schumann said the song honours all Australians who have put themselves in harm’s way for their country. “It is not to be used to advance ignorance and intolerance, especially as we approach the centenary of Anzac,” he added.
A video recently uploaded to YouTube shows the song being performed at Reclaim Australia’s Gold Coast rally by an unidentified musician on an acoustic guitar, surrounded by Australian flags.
Violence erupted at several of the rallies after protestors clashes with anti-racism groups and there were several arrests, including three in Melbourne where more than 3,000 people clashed in Federation Square, blocking surrounding streets.
As News Corp reports, hundreds of police formed barricades to separate the groups but fights still broke out and some people were treated by paramedics for minor injuries.
On Facebook, organisers said they chose Federation Square as a location because of the prevalence of security cameras, which would capture any fights or assaults on video.
[include_post id=”431871″]
On Sunday, federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten condemned the violence at the rallies. “There’s no place for violence in any protests or any expressions of freedom of speech,” Mr Shorten told the Nine Network.
Mr Shorten also scoffed at the idea that Muslims were planning to bring Sharia law to Australia. “It was 50-60 years ago people said that the Irish Catholics or the Catholics were trying to take over the joint — and that wasn’t true either,” he said.
Reclaim Australia, who have made headlines for their dubious claims that fees paid to attain Halal certification are used to fund terrorist groups, have garnered criticism from many in the Australian Islamic community.
According to SBS, the group’s rallies were attended by members of neo-Nazi skinhead gangs. However, Reclaim Australia have repeatedly distanced themselves from any Nazi affiliations.
