King clashes with Indigenous activists a day after being criticized in Australian Parliament | World news

The king clashed with Australia’s indigenous activists a day after an Australian parliament senator accused him of “genocide”.

Monarch met elders while visiting the National Center for Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Sydney, and one of them told him their goal was “sovereignty”.

Charles encountered shouts of “you are not our king” from Senator Lydia Thorpe after his speech to Australian parliament on Monday.

Ms Thorpe accused the king of “genocide” against Australia’s Indigenous people, shouting: “This is not your land. You are not my king.”

Ms Thorpe, who wore a possum skin coat and held a traditional message stick, added: “Give us back our land. Give us back what you stole from us. Our bones, our skulls, our children, our people. You destroyed our land. “

In welcoming Charles to Sydney, Elder Allan Murray of the local Aboriginal Land Council appeared to refer to Senator Thorpe’s remarks.

“Welcome to the country. We have a story to tell, and I think you witnessed that story yesterday in Canberra, but that story is unshakable and we have a long way to go to get to where we want to get to, and that is our own sovereignty.” “, he said. “But welcome to the land of Gadigal.”

The king blew cleansing smoke on himself at an outdoor fire during a traditional smoking ceremony attended by members of the Gadigal people of the Eora people.

Read more:
Australian senator defends comments
Queen Camilla is making a fan’s dream come true in Australia

The King also saw an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance performance in a nearby gymnasium.

“It looked like good exercise,” he told the dancers afterwards. “I don’t think I can do this at my age.”

The visit to the center came after a statue of Queen Victoria was covered in red paint in Sydney.

“The Union Jack was placed on our land without our consent”

Charles later spoke privately with several First Nations elders, First Nations rangers from the Gamay region and members of the Inner City Empowered Communities Group.

After the visit, Mr Murray said: “We are always committed to the return of our sovereignty. We are a sovereign people, we have never signed a formal agreement or treaty.”

“The Union Jack was placed on our land without our consent. We were ignored. We cannot rest on our laurels.”

Asked if he blamed the king, Mr Murray said: “It’s his family that goes back to 1770. We have asked kings and queens to recognize them, but they have been ignored since 1770.”

“I think he listened to what I said.”

👉 Click to subscribe to Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts 👈

Referring to last year’s controversial referendum, in which Australians overwhelmingly rejected a plan to give greater political rights to Indigenous people, he added: “The King’s visit to Australia came a year after the failed referendum.

“There is animosity in society and our people are subject to violence, discrimination and displacement.”