The Greek Orthodox Community of North Australia is the latest to condemn the incidents that took place during OXI Day commemorations at Darwin’s St Nicholas, last Sunday.
With an announcement issued on Friday, the GOCNA management committee states that it acknowledges the importance for individuals to be free to express their views, but criticises the choice of OXI Day as a platform for this purpose.
The 31 October events that unfolded after the church service commemorating the national day, involved Darwin Mayor Kon Vatskalis and NT Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro being confronted by a group of attendees protesting the COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
WATCH VIDEO: Darwin Mayor condemns Greek community for heckling at Ohi Day celebration
Condemning the scenes as “embarrassing and disturbing”, Mr Vatskalis had told Neos Kosmos “it was a small minority,” in reference to the 20 to 30 people from the 300 people who yelled out “shame” and “sold out”.
The GOCNA’s announcement has been reported by local newspaper NT News as “a statement apologising for [the] dramatic scenes”, though the statement does not contain a direct apology.
“The indifference shown on the 31st of October disrespects the ethos of this most solemn of Greek National days and the people who feel strongly enough to commemorate it,” it reads.
“We must be mindful in the future to remain civil and respectful to each other to accord the proper due respect to days such as Oxi Day.”
The announcement posted on Facebook has garnered dozens of comments by community members, expressing a range of views, both supporting and condemning the GOCNA’s stance.
https://www.facebook.com/GreekCommunityNtGocna/posts/2541789675957793
Others criticised GOCNA’s communications “not good enough”, in light of a lack of update on this week’s suspended church service at St Nicholas.
NT News broke the news on Saturday that the Sunday service at St Nicholas church would be suspended, with the outlet reporting that Bishop Silouan of Sinope had communicated the Greek Archdiocese’s decision to Father Joel Xanthos due to Darwin’s lockout only allowing unvaccinated people to leave their homes for the five essential reasons.
