‘Can’t stomach meal with Russian envoy? It’s hypocritical’, says Rateb Jneid

The president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils has defended his decision to host the Russian ambassador alongside several senior Australian politicians at a community dinner.

Australian Federation of Islamic Councils president Rateb Jneid. Picture: Matthew Poon

The president of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils has defended his decision to host the Russian ambassador alongside several senior Australian politicians at a community dinner, and has accused Canberra of hypocrisy for ignoring the plight of persecuted Muslims.

AFIC president Rateb Jneid said it was the organisation’s “democratic right” to invite ­ambassador Alexey Pavlovsky to its annual congress on October 1 because he had a legal right to be in Australia.

Greens senator David Shoebridge and NSW Multicultural Affairs Minister Mark Coure have criticised AFIC for seating them at a table with Mr Pavlovsky, claiming they had not been told in advance.

Neither politician left the event after discovering they were seated at the same table as the ­ambassador. But both were strident in their criticism of AFIC for inviting Mr Pavlovsky, who ­recently accused Australians of being “brainwashed” about Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Responding to the criticism, Dr Jneid accused the Greens, Labor and the Liberal Party of double standards when it came to the abuse of human rights.

“Firstly, I would like to assert our democratic right to invite any resident of Australia who has a legal right to be here,” Dr Jneid said. “AFIC dinners are events that bring people together to ­create peace, friendship and goodwill. One of the secrets of our beauty, resilience and national ­security is our multicultural and multifaith mix.

“I meet and engage in dialogue with people whose actions are agreeable and others whose ­actions are disagreeable. This ­encourages healthy debates and creates an opportunity to find common ground. AFIC is ready to do what it can to promote a truce between Russia and the Ukraine. We hate war, we hate violence and we hate their after-effects. I am though very disappointed in the double standards in our political establishment and in public ­debate.

“We see daily the persecution and killing of Muslims in historic Palestine, Kashmir, parts of India, Myanmar, East Turkistan (forcefully annexed by China) and Syria, and our world sees the ­exploitation of the resources of the entire continent of Africa by European nations, thus transforming the natural-resource-rich continent into the most impoverished.

“The international community exploits and plays lip-service on the one hand and on the other, it runs to stand with one group against another instead of finding a pathway to peace.

“I call on our Labor, Greens and Liberal politicians to stop this hypocrisy.”

The Australian on Thursday revealed that Senator Shoebridge, Mr Coure and former federal Coalition minister and NSW Liberal Party president Philip Ruddock had dined with Mr Pavlovsky at the AFIC dinner.

NSW Labor MPs Lynda Voltz and Shaoquett Moselmane also attended the dinner.

Senator Shoebridge and Mr Coure claim to have been blindsided by the attendance of the ­ambassador. Mr Ruddock learnt only later that he had been sitting opposite Mr Pavlovsk.

Senator Shoebridge said he was “extremely surprised” that the ambassador was there.

“Given recent aggressive ­actions by Russia, inviting their ambassador to community events is deeply concerning,” he said.

In Canberra, there is now an ­established but unofficial practice among the diplomatic corps that, if the Russian ambassador is ­invited to an event, representatives of countries aligned with Ukraine leave when he arrives.

Mr Coure said he had been unaware that Mr Pavlovsky was to be a guest at the same table.

“I urge all community organisations to reflect on the crimes, ­violence and suffering perpet­rated by the Russian government before inviting its representatives to events,” he said.