RAID PROMPTS PROTEST PROMISE

Aboriginal activist Lyall Munro has threatened mass protests during the
2000 Olympics to retaliate against police drug raids on an indigenous
neighbourhood in central Sydney.

Munro said the raids were racially motivated and were part of a government
strategy to "remove an eyesore" before the Sept. 15 - Oct. 1 Olympics.

In an early morning operation Friday, more than 120 police swooped on an
inner-city enclave known as The Block, a notorious run-down Aboriginal
housing project in Redfern, and arrested 16 people on drug-related offences.

"All bets are off - Black Australia will rise up," said Munro after the
raids. "We're coming after you mob in two weeks time."

Political leaders and police officials denied the raids were race-related.