On behalf of the more than 13,500 Greek Australians, an additional 9,000 Western Australians of Greek heritage, and 2,200 Cypriot Australians, whom all come together in solidarity in this instance, the Hellenic Community of WA sends both encouragement and congratulations to Australia’s Foreign Minister, the Hon. Julie Bishop, together with the representatives of all the major parties within our national parliament, for advocating and maintaining the respectful and appropriate policy position of supporting mature and constructive dialogue by the appropriate representatives of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic, on the issue of the use of an intrinsically and historically Greek national term, Macedonia, by FYROM; that is quite simply, promoting the accepted UN, EU and NATO diplomatic approach through to resolution.
In offering heartfelt and sincere congratulations, I also echo the disappointment of all Hellenic Australians to hear the MHR for Cowan, Luke Simpkins, offer unsettling and even inflammatory remarks recently in our parliament (17 March), and disappointment that Mr Simpkins found it necessary to succumb to the pressures of a minority of agitating voices in his electorate. And again further disappointment in learning that Mr Simpkins has accepted at least two junkets to the FYROM capital Skopje, from those here wishing him to fan the flames of a more aggressive approach to alter the Australian diplomatic position on the FYROM name issue.
Whilst passions on the matter will be ignited on all sides, this issue cannot be resolved in Australia, and only through supporting the internationally accepted processes of continued dialogue will there be any resolution to this question. And perhaps it is because he is a relatively new member of parliament that Mr Simpkins has no recollection of the street demonstrations, aggressive protest rallies and the very real unease within these communities of the early 1990s, that were all ignited by this issue.
Apart from the matter of historical heritage, the clear memory of this shocking, disruptive and potentially dangerous period provides the motivation prompting all within the Hellenic Community of WA to come together, resist the almost primitive provocations and strive to avoid a recurrence of those conflicts as an urgent, ongoing priority.
In concluding, again I thank the foreign minister for maintaining her considered position of supporting the UN/EU/NATO approach, which has afforded much stability and ease to all communities in the previous twenty years, and on behalf of those Australians of Greek heritage in WA, I offer continued support in the area of building national harmony.
* Gary Mitchell is the president of the Hellenic Community of WA.