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PO Box 364, Doncaster VIC 3108
Melbourne, Australia
Tel/Fax: +61 3 9460 2910
mail@macedonianhr.org.au

07.06.2009

The Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) works to protect the Macedonian language and religious identity.

Many people within the Australian Macedonian community would have experienced some level of insensitivity to Macedonian culture, language or religion at some stage of their lives. The Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) recently became aware of two instances where Macedonian culture, language and religion did not receive the respect and recognition it deserved by several large non-government organisations. The AMHRC felt it would be an injustice to the Macedonian community of Australia if it did not seek rectification of these matters.

In the first instance the AMHRC became aware that the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) had decided to remove the Macedonian Language from its Annual Testing Program for 2009, and for the indefinite future. In short, this decision meant that any translator or interpreter of the Macedonian language in Australia could not participate in NAATI’s annual testing program, and therefore could not receive accreditation from NAATI. NAATI is the peak accreditation body for translators and interpreters in Australia. This would have been a major blow for Macedonian translators and interpreters in Australia, not to mention any individual or organisation seeking to utilise the services of these professionals.

28.05.2009

Greek Plea to Barack Obama to Reverse Recognition of Macedonia - Based on 2,000 Year Old "Facts"

Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee and Macedonian Human Rights Movement International – Press Release

Melbourne, Australia and Toronto, Canada, May 25, 2009 - "Greece is in no position to dictate anything based on history. More to the point, should we be governed today based on arbitrary interpretations of ancient history?" (MHRMI Letter to Hill Times)

In an ever-increasing move of desperation, so-called "scholars of Graeco-Roman antiquity" (the Greek Diaspora and “supporters”) sent a letter to Barack Obama on May 18, 2009, pleading for him to "intervene to clean up some of the historical debris left in southeast Europe by the previous U.S. administration." In other words, reverse US recognition of the Republic of Macedonia.

10.05.2009

AMHRC and MHRMI Call on Macedonians Abroad to Report Discrimination by Greece


Melbourne, Australia and Toronto, Canada - May 10, 2009 - Following the publicity of Canadian-Macedonians' discrimination at the hands of the Greek Consulate in Toronto (see www.mhrmi.org/news/2009/may05_e.asp ), Macedonian Human Rights Movement International (MHRMI) and the Australian Macedonian Human Rights Committee (AMHRC) call on Macedonians in the diaspora to contact our organizations to report on similar difficulties they have faced

23.04.2009

NAATI_letter_Reply_to_Heywood from 15 April 2009

Dear Dr Heywood,

Thank you for your letter of 15 December 2008 in reply to my letter of 23 October 2008 in which I raised the matter of NAATI testing in Macedonian.

In your reply you pointed out the reasons why NAATI has not included the Macedonian language in the annual program of testing this financial year. You also indicated that your board is exploring how the annual testing model might be able to be discontinued in favour of a model based on more frequently available testing. It has recently come to our attention that the NAATI board has decided to discontinue the traditional Annual Program of Testing from 1 June 2009 in favour of more regular access to testing. However, in view of your board’s decision to exclude Macedonian from this year’s testing program, it is not clear whether Macedonian will be included in the new testing regime.

 

22.04.2009

Channel_7 Greek Letter Easter from 19 April 2009

Dear Sir/Madam

I write in reference to your 6:00 pm Melbourne news bulletin of Sunday 19 April 2009. In that bulletin you ran a report on “Greek Easter”.

Please note that last weekend it was not "Greek Easter", but Eastern Orthodox Easter that was being celebrated. Eastern Orthodox Easter is celebrated not only by Greeks, but also by Macedonians, Serbians, Russians, Montenegrins, Ukrainians, Belorussians, Romanians, Georgians, Bulgarians, Armenians, Ethiopian and Egyptian Copts, some Albanians, Syrian and Lebanese Orthodox believers and many other communities in Europe and the Middle East. Many of these communities have their own thriving churches in Melbourne and their churches and places of worship were full this past weekend. It is thus wrong to term Eastern Orthodox Easter "Greek Easter", as all the different Orthodox communities have their own national Orthodox churches and hierarchies and do not come under the aegis of a single Orthodox Church authority.

 


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