A Macedonian community group says it is considering its legal options after the City of Melbourne said it was not allowed to display a disputed cultural flag at this year’s Moomba Parade despite it being allowed to at previous events.
In an email to the Federation of Macedonian Cultural Artistic Associations (FOKMUD), the council said the group would not be allowed to carry the Kutlesh Sun, otherwise known as the Star of Kutlesh or Vergina Sun flag.
The Moomba Parade takes place on Monday as part of the wider Moomba Festival, which is held in Melbourne over the Labour Day weekend every year.
The flag, a yellow sun on a red background, has been a part of a long-standing dispute between Greece and what is now known as the Republic of North Macedonia.
The sun image is linked to the father of Alexander the Great, a famous leader that Macedonians and Greeks claim as integral to their cultural history.
Federation of Macedonian Cultural Artistic Associations president George Lambeski said there was no political intent behind using the flag at Moomba.
“The Star of Kutlesh is the people’s flag,” he said.
“It symbolises the whole region of Macedonia. It’s our right, for self-determination, to choose that flag.
“We’re not here for any political protest.”
When the Republic of Macedonia declared its independence in 1991, it adopted the Vergina Sun as its national flag.
This was disputed by Greece, whose territory includes the wider Macedonian region in the north of the country, and which claims the flag as culturally Greek.
In 1995 the Republic of Macedonia agreed to adopt a different yellow sun design.
Macedonian Communities Council of Australia chairman Chris Angelkov said FOKMUD was told it would not be allowed to display the flag due to sensitivities around cultural and regional flags.
He said it was “unusual and disappointing” because Macedonian community groups have been displaying the flag at the Moomba Parade in previous years without a problem.
“We’ve therefore taken the decision to not allow any flags in the parade this year that may be described as cultural or regional,” it said.
“We are making exceptions to allow recognised current national flags and organisational flags to be used only.”
The group said it believed the exclusion violated Section 19 of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights, and did not acknowledge precedent set by previous parades.
They claim it also breached professional standards by departing from Moomba’s core mission of community harmony.
The group is still hoping the council will overturn the decision.
‘Consistent approach for all participants,’ council says
In a statement to the ABC a Melbourne City spokesperson said the council was looking forward to celebrating the diversity and creativity of Melburnians at Moomba.
“We welcome and celebrate the colour and creativity of more than 35 community and cultural groups,” the statement said.
Mr Angelkov said FOMKUD sent photos of the flags and symbols they planned to use in the march, which prompted the email from council.
Mr Angelkov questioned why a cultural flag could not be displayed in a march focused on cultural diversity and said the flag was one of unity for the wider Macedonian community.
Dominique Jones, a PhD candidate from the University of Melbourne, has studied Greek and Macedonian communities in Australia.
She said many Australian-Macedonians migrated from northern Greece.
“They especially feel that the Republic of North Macedonia Flag isn’t representative of their identity,” she said.
“So they call upon alternative symbols they see as a broader and more trans-border identity.”
The Pan-Macedonian Association of Melbourne and Victoria welcomed the move to ban the flag, which it referred to as “the 16-ray Sun of Vergina”.
“It is universally recognised as a symbol of the ancient Macedonian Greek kingdom and is closely associated with Philip II of Macedon and the royal dynasty of ancient Macedonia. Today, it remains a protected national symbol of Greece,” it said in a post on its Facebook page.
“We appreciate Moomba’s respect for historical truth and cultural heritage by ensuring that this ancient Greek emblem is not appropriated or misrepresented.
“Cultural diversity must always be celebrated in a way that is accurate and respectful of history.”
The Federation of Macedonian Cultural Artistic Associations said Monday’s performance would go ahead, bringing together some 100 performers from various community groups.
The region of Macedonia covers modern-day North Macedonia and northern Greece, as well as Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and Kosovo.
After the 1995 agreement for the Republic of Macedonia to adopt the different yellow sun design as its national flag, in 2019 a wider agreement was struck with Greece.
The agreement included the country changing its name to the Republic of North Macedonia and Greece gaining rights to the Vergina Sun flag as a protected state symbol.
Source: ABC News
