Britain’s King Charles III meets members of the public at Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, on Tuesday. Photo by Bianca de Marchi/EPA-EFE
Oct. 22 (UPI) — King Charles III was again criticized by Australian Indigenous activists on Tuesday while he and Queen Camilla continued their tour of the country. Charles attended a ceremony at the National Center of Indigenous Excellence in Sydney when an elder, Alan Murray, told him after the event that the goal of the native Aborigines is sovereignty.
The comment was in reference to Australian Indigenous lawmaker Lidia Thorpe telling Charles “You are not my king” at the Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.
“We’ve got stories to tell, and I think you witnessed that story yesterday in Canberra, but the story is unwavering, and we’ve got a long way to achieve what we want to achieve and that’s our own sovereignty,” Murray told Charles.
Authorities arrested another Aboriginal man, Wayne “Coco” Wharton, near the Sydney Opera House after he protested the royal couple’s visit there.
“Go home with the King,” Wharton said at Opera House before he was detained. “He is a king of thieves and a king of liars. You have no receipt. You have no agreement on the occupation of this country. You are a nation of thieves. You’reguilty.”
Nellie Pollard-Wharton, the daughter of Wharton, said her father was trying to issue an arrest notice for Charles because of the historical treatment of Indigenous people in Australia.
At the National Center for Indigenous Excellence, Charles hugged elder Michael “Widdy” Welsh, who said he received good vibes from the monarch.
“It was good he was there, and he appreciated the hug as he hugged me back,” Welsh said. “I had a really good feeling about him. I got the feeling he is somebody who genuinely cares.”
