Lidia Thorpe has accused the Northern Territory government of being complicit in ‘genocide’ as relations between Aboriginal communities and police deteriorate.
A 68-year-old Indigenous man died at Royal Darwin Hospital on Saturday after police stopped him from boarding a plane when they claimed he was drunk.
It’s the second death in custody in a fortnight in the Northern Territory.
Days before, 24-year-old Aboriginal man Kumanjayi White died on May 27 after he was restrained by plain-clothes officers in an Alice Springs Coles.
Both deaths are being investigated by police on behalf of the Coroner.
Victorian independent Senator Thorpe took aim at NT’s chief minister Lia Finocchiaro for being ‘complicit’ in the harm against Indigenous Australians.
‘We meet all the definitions of genocide and I’ve certainly seen that over my time,’ she told ABC’s Radio National on Tuesday.
‘The definition of genocide, according to the Geneva Convention, is causing harm to a group of people.
Outspoken Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) has called on the federal government to address Aboriginal deaths in custody after two fatal incidents in one fortnight
Hundreds gathered over the weekend to protest the death of 24-year-old Kumanjayi White who died after he was restrained by officers in an Alice Springs Coles
‘The ongoing killings of our people in custody is ongoing harm of our people,’ she said.
‘The incarceration rates of our people, particularly in the Northern Territory, particularly of our children, is an act of genocide.
‘The stealing of children and putting them in with white families is an act of genocide.’
Thorpe also accused NT Police of ‘systemic racism’ and called for the federal government intervention into the force.
‘We need the prime minister to come out. He came out on vaping. He came out on social media to stop kids from accessing social media.
‘He called the states and territories to account for those issues. So he needs to do the same for deaths in custody.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted NT Police and the Prime Minister’s office for comment.
Finocchiaro slammed Thorpe’s statements saying ‘we categorically reject and dismiss these absurd claims’.
Northern Land Council, Central Land Council and all Warlpiri families released a statement last week to slam how not enough has been done to address racism in the NT Police force
‘The politicisation of a death in custody by federal Independent and Labor MPs shows just how little respect they have for the grieving family, the Northern Territory Police Force, and the broader NT community,’ she said.
The deaths in the last fortnight have ignited calls nationwide for more to be done to address the issue at territory and federal government levels.
Hundreds of protesters gathered on the steps of Sydney’s Town Hall on George Street on Saturday night where the lawyer for Mr White’s family addressed the crowd.
‘I’ve just come back from Alice Springs and Yuendumu, I’m angry there are mothers grieving there tonight,’ lawyer George Newhouse said.
‘I am angry there was a disabled young man calling out for his mother in Coles last week.’
Rallies and vigils commemorating Mr White’s death were also held nationwide on Friday, stretching as far as Alice Springs to Victoria’s state parliament where Thorpe was one of the speakers.
The Northern Land Council released a joint statement with Central Land Council and all Warlpiri families on Thursday calling for federal government to step in.
‘Not enough has been done to address racism in the NT Police force,’ the organisations said.
NT Police’s acting commissioner has refused to call for an external investigation (stock image)
‘We are calling upon the Federal Government to step in and make the necessary moves to ensure an independent body investigates this entirely preventable death.’
On May 30, the same day TN was arrested while attempting to board a flight, NT Police Acting Commissioner Martin Dole rejected calls for an external investigation.
‘This incident is being investigated by our Major Crime Division, which operates under strict protocols and with full transparency,’ he said.
‘The investigation will also be independently reviewed by the NT Coroner, who has broad powers to examine all aspects of the incident and make findings without interference.’
This year alone there have been 12 Indigenous deaths in custody and 597 since the 1987 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was established.
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