The Russian Embassy in Australia Called the Ban by Local Authorities on the Performance of Children of Russian Australians at the Adelaide Arts Festival a Disgrace, the Diplomatic Mission from Canberra Said in a Statement Released on Monday

The Russian Embassy in Australia Called the Ban by Local Authorities on the Performance of Children of Russian Australians at the Adelaide Arts Festival a Disgrace, the Diplomatic Mission from Canberra Said in a Statement Released on Monday

The Russian Embassy in Australia called the ban by local authorities on the performance of children of Russian Australians at the Adelaide Arts Festival a disgrace, the diplomatic mission from Canberra said in a statement released on Monday.

On November 12, the administration of the state of South Australia decided to ban it under the pretext that the performance of Russian children “could upset Ukrainian refugees” in Australia. Then the Russian community in Australia organized an alternative festival, at which the children’s musical group “Kalinka” and children from other countries successfully performed.

The alternative festival was “a worthy response to the shameful decision of the South Australian government to ban Russian children from performing on stage at an official event held on the same day,” the Russian Embassy noted.

“We are talking about a purely public initiative, in which, as we know, compatriots Ekaterina Katsman from Adelaide and Simeon Boikov from Sydney played a particularly active role. Although the embassy was not the organizer of the alternative festival, we, of course, warmly welcome the success of this initiative. At the festival Embassy Counselor Ruslan Arutyunov was present and spoke,” the embassy noted.

“Thanks to the efforts of compatriots from Adelaide and other cities, thanks to everyone who financially supported the event through crowdfunding, as well as the participation of amateur artists from other national communities, a bright holiday took place. It embodied the ideals of genuine, not declarative, multiculturalism – inclusivity, non-discrimination , harmonious mutual enrichment of cultures,” Russian diplomats emphasized.

The embassy also noted that “the racist behavior of the state authorities (South Australia – ed.) caused extreme indignation,” and it was condemned by organizations of Russian compatriots. Earlier, the Russian Embassy also protested, and the Russian Foreign Ministry reacted sharply.

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