King Charles III, rebuked again by indigenous Australians who accuse him of seeking “sovereignty”

MADRID 22 Oct. () –

King Charles III of the United Kingdom faced criticism this Tuesday for the second consecutive day from indigenous Australian activists who question the supremacy of the British monarchy in Australia and accuse him of seeking “sovereignty.”

In his meeting with indigenous elders during a visit to the National Center of Indigenous Excellence (NCIE) in Sydney, one of the activists told him that the objective of his visit to the country was “sovereignty.”

These reproaches have occurred just one day after indigenous Australian senator Lidia Thorpe accused the king of sharing responsibility for the alleged “genocide” committed against the aboriginal peoples and shouted at him: “You are not our king.”

“You committed genocide against our people. Give us back our lands, give us what you stole from us, our bones, our skulls, our babies,” denounced Thorpe, from the communities of Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung. The senator waited for the British monarch to finish his speech in Parliament to ask the king to give them “a treaty” with the indigenous peoples.

This fact has provoked the reaction of the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who has defended the “fantastic work” of the monarch, whom he considers a “sensational ambassador” of the United Kingdom and the 56 independent countries that make up the Community of Nations, a organization formed mainly by the United Kingdom and its former colonies.

“We should remember that he is doing a public service in a health context, despite the health problems he has had himself, so I think he is doing a wonderful job,” the prime minister added.

Later, a Starmer spokesperson indicated that a possible apology for slavery or reparations demanded by former British colonies and some of Starmer’s own Labor Party MPs is “not on the agenda.”

Aboriginal communities in Australia, such as those of Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung, have fought over the years for the recognition of their territorial and cultural rights, and have denounced the impact of the British colonial appropriation of their lands.

The British monarch, 75, was crowned king on May 6, 2023 after succeeding his mother Elizabeth II, who spent 70 years on the throne. He has started an international tour after stopping treatment for cancer.

His tour of Australia ended this Tuesday, marking the first visit by a British monarch to Australia in thirteen years.

The king, along with Queen Camilla, is scheduled to arrive in Samoa next Wednesday for the biennial meeting of heads of state of the Commonwealth of Nations.