The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) and its member organisations across Australia stand strongly in condemnation of planned mosque protests in October.
At FECCA, we are very concerned over the progressively hostile attitudes toward Muslim Australians and other minority groups.
“There can be no tolerance for racism and bigotry. We need to call it what it is, instead of making excuses for racist behaviours under the guise of ‘patriotism,’” FECCA Acting Chair, Eugenia Grammatikakis said.
FECCA is troubled by the rise in rallies and racist attacks, which promote feelings of exclusion and fear in the community. The rhetoric maintained by Reclaim Australia and other fringe groups is one completely at odds with Australian values.
Ms Grammatikakis said, “The encouragement of violent protests is alarming and is a threat to the personal security and safety of our culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse communities. These racist groups should be condemned by all in the Australian community as a threat to social cohesion and community harmony.”
In these times of heightened societal angst, FECCA would like to stress the importance of respect, tolerance and social inclusion to build an accepting, cohesive and unified Australia.
Media Comments: FECCA Office – (02) 6282 5755, media@fecca.org.au.