MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥� Australian Prime Minister condemned anti-Indigenous rights protesters who disrupted two Anzac Day dawn services on Friday as hundreds of thousands gathered across the nation to commemorate their war dead.
鈥淭he disruption of Anzac Day is beyond contempt and the people responsible must face the full force of the law,鈥� Albanese told reporters.
鈥淭his was an act of low cowardice on a day when we honor courage and sacrifice,鈥� he added.
The protests come during a heightened political atmosphere ahead of general elections on in which Indigenous rights are a campaign issue.
April 25, 1915 was the day when the newly-formed Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the beaches of , in northwest Turkey, in an ill-fated campaign that was the soldiers鈥� first combat of World War I.
It is considered Australia鈥檚 most unifying national holiday and a sacred day when political point-scoring and protest are generally avoided.
Protesters disrupt dawn services in Melbourne and Perth
A group of hecklers including booed and jeered during a dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne where 50,000 gathered.
In Perth, a lone man yelled briefly during a dawn service at Kings Park before the 25,000 people who surrounded him persuaded him to stay silent, a police statement said. The man left soon after.
The disruptions were triggered in both cities by the so-called Welcome to Country ceremony, which is held at the outset of many Australian public events in which Indigenous leaders welcome visitors to their traditional land.
The Melbourne-based First Peoples鈥� Assembly of Victoria, an Indigenous advocacy group, said in a statement it 鈥渟trongly condemns the racist attack during the Welcome to Country鈥� in Melbourne.
Prime minister labels protests 鈥渄isgrace鈥�
Albanese said the disruptions in both Melbourne and Perth were a 鈥渄isgrace.鈥�
鈥淭here is no place in Australia for what occurred,鈥� Albanese said.
In Melbourne, the interruptions continued after the Welcome to Country at any mention by speakers of Indigenous soldiers or traditional owners of Australia.
Hecklers yelled 鈥渢his is our country鈥� and 鈥渨e don鈥檛 have to be welcomed,鈥� echoing a slogan of the minor party Trumpet of Patriots. The party鈥檚 extensive advertising is funded by mining magnate Clive Palmer and party officials say they are inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump鈥檚 policies.
The hecklers were drowned out by the applause of others who urged the speakers to continue.
Lawmakers in the opposition conservative Liberal Party have complained that Welcome to Country ceremonies have become too prevalent and cost the center-left Labor Party government 452,953 Australian dollars ($289,602) over two years.
Opposition leader defends Indigenous ceremony
But opposition leader on Friday defended the place of such Indigenous ceremonies on Anzac Day.
鈥淲elcome to Country is an important part of official ceremonies and it should be respected. I don鈥檛 agree with the booing and I don鈥檛 agree, in our democracy, that people can鈥檛 accept the views of others,鈥� Dutton told reporters. 鈥淲e have a proud Indigenous heritage in this country and we should be proud to celebrate it as part of today.鈥�
Police were seen escorting Hersant away from the Melbourne service. Hersant is a leader of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network and last year became the first person in Australia to be sentenced to prison for performing an outlawed Nazi salute.
He remains free on bail because his appeal against a one-month prison sentence has yet to be heard.
鈥淭hey want to humiliate us over and over again,鈥� Hersant told reporters before police led him away, referring to Indigenous leaders. .
Hersant鈥檚 lawyer did not immediately respond to the AP鈥檚 request for comment on Friday.
Victoria and Western Australia state police respond
Victoria Police confirmed a 26-year-old Melbourne man had been directed to leave the service. They did not confirm the suspect's identity in accordance with its usual policy.
The suspect had been interviewed over an allegation of offensive behavior and would be issued a summons to appear in court, a police statement said.
Video showed at least one other protester repeating a white supremacist slogan being dragged away from the service by a member of the public.
Western Australia Police Force said the Perth service disruption remained under investigation.
鈥淭he Anzac Day service is a solemn commemoration and any disorderly behavior at such commemorations will not be tolerated by police,鈥� a police statement said.
Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press
