Crowds join Anzac Day services for Australia, New Zealand forces
Crowds of Australians and New Zealanders gathered just before dawn on Friday to observe solemn Anzac Day ceremonies, but one service was briefly interrupted by booing -- with a local politician blaming a "known neo-Nazi".
Anzac Day originally marks the ill-fated World War I landing of Australia and New Zealand Army Corps troops at Gallipoli, in what is now Turkey, in 1915.
Facing dug-in German-backed Ottoman forces, more than 10,000 Australian and New Zealand servicemen were killed in the Allied expedition.This year commemorates the 110th anniversary of the landing.
Anzac Day now honours Australians and New Zealanders who have served in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.
"We who are gathered here, think of those who went out to the battlefields of all wars, but did not return," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who attended a service in Canberra, said.
"We feel them still near us in spirit. We wish to be worthy of their great sacrifice."
Melbourne's dawn service was briefly interrupted by booing during the Welcome to Country ceremony -- a traditional blessing from a local Indigenous elder before an event.
The interruption was "led by someone who is a known neo-Nazi," veterans' affairs minister Matt Keogh said.
"Frankly, when we come together to commemorate on Anzac Day, we're commemorating some of those soldiers who fell in a war that was fought against that sort of hateful ideology," he told the national broadcaster ABC.
"And so it was completely disrespectful, and is not something that's welcome at Anzac Day commemorations ever."
When pressed how he knew the identity of the person involved, Keogh said he had "seen the public reporting of at least one of the names of one of the people that was involved".
Defence Minister Richard Marles added the incident was "terrible" and "deplorable", but that it did not deserve any more attention.
"This is a day to acknowledge those who have worn our nation's uniform," he told Channel Nine television.
Victorian police directed one man -- who they have not identified -- to leave the event, who they also interviewed "for offensive behaviour", a spokesperson said in a statement.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will attend an Anzac service in Gallipoli.
In a statement Britain's King Charles III thanked the thousands of Anzac troops for their "selfless service in those most difficult and dangerous times".
The annual commemoration comes in the run-up to a May 3 election in Australia, where the most pressing issues for both parties are the cost of living, managing the energy transition and balancing relations with the United States.
The left-leaning government is leading the opposition in opinion polls.
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