At a rally in Sydney last month, NSW MP Craig Kelly stated: “If the nation of ‘Macedonia’ wishes to call itself ‘The Republic of Macedonia’…every other nation should fall in line and respect that right,” which Greek City Times reported on here.
Many Greek Australian Associations and PM’s including Tom Koutsantonis wrote letters of complaint, bringing the matter to the attention of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
In response, PM Turnbull has stated:
“The Commonwealth Government’s longstanding policy of using the name ‘former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’ remains unchanged. We will continue to maintain our position, which follows United Nations practice and strives to remain impartial pending a mutually agreed solution among governments in Athens and Skopje.”
The PM’s statement goes on to say, “I regret any offence caused to the Hellenic Republic and Greek Australians. Australians of Greek heritage have helped make Australia the highly successful multicultural country it is today.”
Mr Koutsantonis said, “Full credit to Prime Minister Turnbull for understanding the depth of feeling and connection Australian's of Greek heritage have to our culture and rich history. In turn, he understood the great offence caused to Greek Australians by a member of his government, Liberal MP Mr Craig Kelly. Mr Kelly's offensive remarks have now been sidelined as a fringe view. By responding to my letter, the Prime Minister finally ends the debate Mr Kelly attempted to begin."
*Photo credit: SBS Radio
