Victoria’s Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Nicholas Kotsiras has openly criticised this week his federal Liberal colleagues who want the burqa banned stating that he supports the right of Muslim women to wear it.
Speaking to the media, Kotsiras said he has no objection to Muslim women wearing the burqa or the full- face veil if they wish to. “I’m comfortable provided no one is forced to wear a particular piece of clothing, and that could be any clothing, under duress,” Kotsiras said, adding that people should have the right to wear clothing that represents their cultural identity and who they are. “We celebrate our differences because you and I are different,” he said.
Kotsiras lashed out at those federal Liberal MPs who have raised concerns about Muslim enclaves and who want the burqa banned, calling it un-Australian. Kotsiras recognised that some migrant groups faced challenges, but he stressed that multiculturalism was working well in Australia and rejected studies suggesting that many Australians held racist views.
“There might be one or two individuals or one or two groups, but the vast majority, 99 per cent, are embracing and supporting our cultural diversity. Australians are not racists,” Kotsiras said.
Speaking about his own heritage he said that “no one can take away who I am,” he said. “I’m an Australian first, so my commitment is to Australia. “But my culture is Greek and I’m proud of being an Australian Greek.” Kotsiras said he could understand why migrants and the children of migrants supported foreign sports teams when they played against Australia.
“People are free to support any team provided they do it peacefully and not cause a problem for anyone else,” he said. Kotsiras said that when Greece played Australia in soccer, he wore a T-shirt with an Aussie flag on one side and a Greek flag on the other. “But we are citizens of this state, of this country. Our priority, our commitment is to Australia, its democratic values and the rule of law,” Kotsiras concluded.
