FORMER South African President Nelson Mandela has urged Australia’s white majority to take the initiative in promoting racial harmony, saying it would be hard for disadvantaged Aborigines to force change. Australia’s small indigenous population simply did not have the weight of numbers that blacks in South Africa had when they struggled against and eventually triumphed over white minority rule, Mandela told a World Reconciliation Day lunch. Australia’s 430 000 Aborigines make up about 2.1% of the population and suffer more social and economic disadvantages in the country than any other group. Aboriginal leaders have said their people will stage peaceful protests throughout the Sydney Olympics, which open next Friday, to draw international attention to their plight. – Reuters