Last update: October 22, 2024, 14:22 CEST
Australian senator Lidia Thorpe disrupts proceedings as Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend a parliamentary reception at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday. (AFP photo)
Thorpe made headlines on Monday after reacting harshly to King Charles shortly after his speech at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra
On Monday, Indigenous Australian Senator Lidia Thorpe made headlines after harassing King Charles shortly after his speech at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra.
Thorpe, an independent senator, shouted anti-colonial slogans at King Charles, shocking lawmakers and other dignitaries in parliament. As the security guards took her out of the room, she continued to express her protests.
“Give us back our land! Give us back what you stole from us!” – she shouted during the almost minute-long speech as she was led out of the room.
VIDEO: Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe shouts anti-colonial slogans at King Charles during his visit to the Australian Parliament, shocking assembled lawmakers and other dignitaries. “Give us back our land! Give us back what you stole from us!” Thorpe almost screams… pic.twitter.com/bLyvorMJ9i
— AFP news agency (@AFP) October 21, 2024
“This is not your land; you are not my king,” she added, condemning what she described as the “genocide” of Indigenous Australians by European settlers.
Who is Lydia Thorpe?
51-year-old Lidia Thorpe comes from an influential family of organizers and activists in the Aboriginal community. According to her, she identifies herself as an indigenous Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman Guardian report.
Known for her eye-catching political acrobatics and fierce opposition to the monarchy, Thorpe was sworn into office in 2022. While taking the oath, she raised her right fist, reluctantly pledging to serve Queen Elizabeth II, who was Australia’s head of state at the time.
“I, the sovereign Lydia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely swear that I will be true and true to the colonizing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” she declared, prompting a rebuke from a Senate official.
“Senator Thorpe, Senator Thorpe, you are required to take the oath as printed on the card,” said House Speaker Sue Lines.
Why is King Charles in Australia?
King Charles, 75, is currently on a nine-day tour of Australia and Samoa, marking his first major overseas trip since his life-changing cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
The visit is Charles’ 17th trip to Australia and his first since becoming king in 2022. It is also the first visit to Australia by a reigning British monarch since his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, traveled in 2011.
Australia was a British colony for over a hundred years, during which time thousands of Aborigines were killed and entire communities displaced. Although the country gained de facto independence in 1901, it never became a full republic, and King Charles is currently the head of state.
(With the participation of the agency)
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