Aco Talevski:

Mr. Rudd, Please be a Prime Minister for all Australians

30th November, 2007
The Hon. Kevin Rudd
Prime Minister of Australia
Parliament House, Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Mr. Prime Minister, Firstly, I would like to congratulate you on your excellent win at the recent federal election. I would like to express my sincerest best wishes in your future endeavours in leading Australia into the next stage of development in the 21st century and in its place in the global political arena.
As a long time Labor supporter, I have always had admiration for you and the way you have conducted yourself since you became more prominent in the Australian political scene, particularly since you became spokesman for Foreign Affairs. I admired your moderate and balanced political stance and I always felt deep down that you would one day become the leader of the Labor Party, which is now the case.
Since then I have admired your independent and strong stance regarding Labor Party factions and have been impressed with your fair- minded attitude towards Australians of all walks of life. During the campaign and in your speech on becoming Prime Minister, you strongly emphasised that you would govern for all Australians equally, no matter which political persuasion they belonged to or where they came from and that you believed in a “fair go” for all Australian citizens.
It is therefore very distressing for me to hear of the boasting of the Greek lobby and to read articles which appeared in the English section of “Neos Cosmos” which brought to light that your “party” and now the Government elect bowed to pressure from a handful of fanatical and racist Greek Australians who unfortunately chose to engage in a negative game to prevent Australia from recognising the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name.
I would like to state that I am a proud Australian citizen of Macedonian descent and that I am very disappointed and heart broken that a government for 21 million people would allow to be dictated to about whom they would and would not recognise. When I saw how you stood up to the different Labor factions and the unions, I naturally thought that you would be able to stand up to a racist segment of the Greek Australian community and that you would refuse to continue the treatment of the Macedonian community as second class citizens and to stop referring to Macedonia as FYROM. What are Macedonians here suppose to call themselves - Australians of Fyromees descent??? That is absolutely ludicrous. Why cannot Australia have the courage to follow 120 countries worldwide who have recognised Macedonia under its constitutional name, including three members of the Security Council, namely Russia, China and the United States, and most recently Canada. At the end of the day, you will be judged on being able to act independently of foreign interference or pressure on the world political stage. The Labor Party constantly accused the Howard Government of allowing itself to be influenced and led by US policies and yet your party and now the Government is prepared to allow the extended hand/lobby of the Greek Government to dictate to you and your government whether or not to recognise the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name.
It makes me very sad that the Greek community, who, by the way, are the greatest beneficiaries of our multicultural system, have chosen to focus all their energy on depriving the Macedonian community of enjoying equal treatment. Furthermore what is even sadder is that both sides of politics in this country have fallen victim and hostage to the absurd attitude of the Greek community and the Greek Government’s political stand. Their stance, which, if it were not so serious would be laughable, contradicts all International Conventions and Treaties on Human Rights and Self Determination.
Mr. Prime Minister, I appeal to you and your government not to allow racist groups/governments to tarnish Australia’s reputation as a multicultural country, which believes in a ‘fair go’ for all its citizens. Do not allow these groups to influence Australia’s decision to recognise the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name.
After all, that was the wish of the Macedonian people, who, after nearly 600 years of foreign domination and interference, could finally live freely and call themselves and their country by what they are – Macedonians. It is for that reason that 97% of Macedonians voted in the 1991 referendum for their country to be called that which it is - THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA. Please be a Prime Minister for all Australians and give us our due “fair go” and announce that the Australian government is going to recognise Macedonia under its constitutional name.

Yours truly,
Alekso (Aco) Talevski
1 Caves Grove, Forest Hill Vic. 3131

Is Multiculturalism for Greeks only?

Dear Ljupco,
After visiting Federation Square on the 11/11/2007 I was appaled by what I encounter, which has promoted further action on my part.
However I am only a small part of the bigger picture and individial attempts don’t impact as greatly as a community and joint campaign
. The Thessalonki Festival was held at Federation Square on 11/11- a day advertised as the commemoration of the 23 years Sister-City relationship between Melbourne and Thessalonki. In fact, the agenda of the day was obviously fuelled by growing political tensions between the ‘us’ and ‘them’. Displays, placards, flyers and chanting; “ Macedonia is Greek 3000 years” , “ Identity Theft is a Crime” and “ Rally for OUR Macedonia” were widespread at Federation Square.
The Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Mr John So was also present and therefore unbeknown to him, advocating and promoting their scheme.
Perhaps he should be advised of the negative message he is sending to other communities of his jurisdiction. The sneaky approach by this organisation is totally inappropriate and unconstructive to the promotion of multiculturalism and multicultural harmony in Melbourne.
The mission of the Victorian Multicultural Commission is as follows;
Objectives
- promote access by Victoria’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities to services made available by governments and other bodies;- encourage all of Victoria’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities to retain and express their social identity and cultural inheritance;- promote co-operation between bodies concerned with multicultural affairs;- promote unity among Victoria’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities; and- promote a better understanding within Victoria of Victoria’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Functions
- ensure that the objectives of the Commission are met to the maximum extent that is practicable;- investigate, report and make recommendations to the Minister on any aspect of multicultural affairs referred to it by the Minister;- advise the Minister on factors inhibiting the development of harmonious community relations and on barriers to the participation of Victoria’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities in the social, cultural, economic and political life of Victoria;- consult with relevant bodies and people to determine the needs of Victoria’s culturally and linguistically diverse communities, including needs in relation to matters covered by any report prepared by the Minister under section 21 (of the MVA); and- maintain and further develop harmonious community relations between all relevant groups in the context of Victoria’s culturally and linguistically diverse society.
The VMC is a fundamental body which is accessible and should be utilised for our purposes. The VMC also hosts the annual ‘Victoria’s Multicultural Awards for Excellence’ where nominations are received from the many communities on various categories. I note that of the many potential awards, only one is awarded to an organisation working in the Macedonian community. I am saddened by this, as I believe there are many worthy recipients for awards.
We, as a community need exposure and the only way we are going to get that is by taking action. I urge you and other leaders of our community to take our plight to the next step and I hope that from 2008 and beyond we are recognised as equal stakeholders in this multicultural country.
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts.

J. M.