Protests in several cities: Australians want to abolish their own national holiday

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Tens of thousands of people took part in protests in Australia on Friday to mark National Day. In Sydney, Melbourne and many other cities, demonstrators took to the streets to commemorate the crimes of British colonial rule against indigenous people. They waved the black, red and yellow Aboriginal flag and sang: “Australia was and always will be Indigenous land.”

The national holiday “Australia Day” commemorates the arrival of European settlers in Australia in 1788 every year on January 26. There are always protests and discussions in Australia to mark this day. Protesters marked Friday as “invasion day” and called for the date of the national holiday to be changed.

Many Australians spend their day off with a trip to the beach

On Thursday, unknown persons damaged statues of James Cook and Queen Victoria in Melbourne. The British sailor and the British queen symbolize the conquest of Australia in the 18th century and the subsequent years of British colonial rule.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a ceremony on Friday that “Australia Day” offered “an opportunity to pause and reflect on all we have achieved as a nation.”

Many Australians spend their day off with a trip to the beach. There is a barbecue and the end of the summer holidays is celebrated. Polls show that a slim majority of them are against changing the name of the holiday. Australians are therefore divided over the question of whether “Australia Day” should be postponed to another date. Currently, just under four percent of Australia’s 26 million people are Indigenous. (AFP)

Source: Blick