The Speaker of the Serbian Parliament: “Australia is being shameful”
The president of the Serbian Parliament, Ivica Dacic, on Friday accused the Australian authorities of exercising “disgusting and shameful political mistreatment” against Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, number one in world tennis.
It is “a disgusting political abuse and outrage, against a person that every country in the world would gladly accept as its citizen, and not just come to a competition,” Dacic said in Belgrade, reports regional television N1.
The president of the Serbian Parliament argued that Djokovic “did not invite himself but was approved a so-called exemption” for not being vaccinated against covid-19.
According to Dadic, the Australian authorities behave in a “shameful” manner and that in that country “abuse for political purposes is ongoing”.
He added that even if the rejection was justified, as the Australian government affirms, “there is another way to do it, with a human attitude, with culture, towards the best tennis player.”
The Serbian government yesterday protested the treatment of Djokovic to the Australian ambassador in Belgrade, but Dacic believes that the government can now help its most famous athletes.
“It is difficult to be able to do something from the aspect of the State, since we do not have any special relations with them,” said the president.
of Parliament.
The decision of the Australian authorities to deport Djokovic and thus not allow him to defend his title at the Australian Open has been harshly criticized in Serbia.
The Djokovic family called Serbian citizens to a new protest before the Serbian Parliament against the treatment of Djokovic in Australia.
“The greatest Christian holiday (Orthodox Christmas) is an occasion for the importance of the community to be felt even more and an image of the enormous support that the best tennis player in the world has in his country is sent from Belgrade to the world,” he said. the Djokovic family in a statement.
The tennis player waits at a hotel for asylum seekers in Melbourne
the answer to your appeal against the rejection of your visa and its exemption
medical.
The Serbian press has reacted with fury, so much so that the daily Telegraf headlined on its front page: “We will never forget this” in allusion to Rafael Nadal for his “shameful statement” that Djokovic, if he had wanted to, could have been vaccinated and played no problem in Australia.
EFE