Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the forced removal of Aborigines from their families in the 1900s is a ``blight on the nation's soul.''

Rudd is still working on the wording of an apology to the ``stolen generation'' to be made in the capital, Canberra, on Feb. 13 and shown on public screens in cities across the country, he said on the Nine television network's ``Sunday'' program today.

From 1910 to 1970, between 10 percent and 30 percent of indigenous children were removed from their families and communities and placed in institutions, church missions or the homes of white Australians, according to a government- commissioned report published in 1997. The inquiry found that many forcibly removed children lost their cultures, languages, heritage and lands, and recommended reparation be made.

Rudd's predecessor John Howard, who was defeated in the November election after 11 years in office, refused to apologize, saying the present generation shouldn't be held responsible for the actions of the past.

Rudd today declined to comment on reports that Howard won't be in Canberra next week for the apology.

Aboriginal people populated Australia at least 50,000 years before Europeans settled in 1788, and now make up about 2 percent of the nation of 21 million.

In the colony's early days, they were often dispossessed from their tribal lands, or killed. The average life expectancy for indigenous Australians is 62.1 years, while the average lifespan of the rest of the population is 79.7, according to the Australian Medical Association.

To contact the reporter for this story: Stuart Kelly in Sydney skelly22@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 9, 2008 19:25 EST