News Mania / Piyal Chatterjee / 21st October 2024
An Indigenous senator in Australia accused King Charles of “genocide” on Monday at Parliament House, just after he paid his “respects to the traditional owners of the lands” during a speech. After completing his remarks, independent senator and Indigenous activist Lidia Thorpe yelled that she did not acknowledge Charles’ sovereignty over Australia. This was Charles’ 16th official visit to Australia and his first significant international journey after receiving a cancer diagnosis.
“You committed genocide against our people,” she said. “Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us – our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want treaty.”
Thorpe, who has previously interrupted protests against Australia’s colonization, was prevented from reaching the king, who appeared unconcerned and just spoke softly to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese from the stage. After that, Thorpe was led from the room.The demonstration stood out in the crowds of dignitaries and well-wishers who were paying their respects to Charles and Queen Camilla. Albanese talked about the respect Australians had for their king and commended Charles for his longstanding stance regarding the threat posed by climate change.
Albanese and a large portion of his center-left Labor party support the Republican cause, which he mentioned in passing in his speech.Following the failure of a government-backed referendum earlier this year to establish an Indigenous advisory council, Albanese put a halt to plans for a referendum on converting Australia into a republic.
The royal couple visited over a thousand well-wishers at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, where they met Hephner, a nine-year-old alpaca wearing a suit with a crown on top of his fluffy white head, before heading to parliament. Named for Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, Hephner stood outside the memorial for hours waiting to meet the royal couple during their one-day tour of the city, along with owner Robert Fletcher and huge queues of people.
Hephner’s perseverance was rewarded. Charles paused to pat the alpaca during a 30-minute walk to welcome the visitors, and when Hephner snorted in his face, he pulled away laughing. On Tuesday, the royal couple will continue their tour of Australia in Sydney before traveling to Samoa for a British Commonwealth summit.
