Mr. McDermott began the interview by highlighting the achievements of the Assyrian Universal Alliance Australian Chapter in the community.
Our guest mentioned the recognition of the Assyrian genocide by the NSW parliament as an example of their achievements.
In August 2020, the secretary-general of the AUA and the former Iranian MP, Mr. Yonathan Betkolia released a statement condemning the existing dialogue between AUA in Australia and the Israeli and Australian Jewish community.
Mr. Betkolia had stated that the memberships of the leaders of the AUA in Australia, Mr. Hermiz Shahen and Mr. David David have been frozen until the next general conference of the organisation which will determine the fate of the two members within the AUA.
The reason behind Mr. Betkolia's stand is the ongoing communication between AUA in Australia and the Jewish community as well as a visit that was made to Israel among other Assyrian and Jewish colleagues to discuss and deal with several matters.
As a response, Mr. McDermott released a statement in the parliament on the 15th of September condemning Mr. Betkolia's statement and describing it as an anti-diversity and anti-multiculturalism.
The MP also characterised the secretary-general as a "puppet of the Iranian regime".
In his statement, the MP also highlighted the importance of preserving the democracy and freedoms that exist in Australia.
He further added that any attempts to attack and influence the harmony between communities in Australia will not be tolerated.
From left to right: Hermiz Shahen, Hugh McDermott MP, and David David Source: Hermiz Shahen
Mr. McDermott also added that the safety of Mr. Shahen and Mr. David was a matter of concern to him.
Therefore, he had contacted the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Senator Marise Payne, and the police to take appropriate safety measures.
When the MP was asked about the reaction of his colleagues in the parlialanent about his statement, he said that they all showed concern and support to the AUA in Australia.
SBS Assyrian also asked the MP about his opinion about Iran's reaction toward the recent historic normalisation of relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain with Israel.
Mr. Mcdermott's comment was that he thinks "many countries in the middle east now realise that the problem is not Israel but rather it is Iran as it continues to exert its influence in many neighbouring countries".
The state MP concluded the interview by thanking the Assyrian team and SBS generally for the continuous coverage of several topics regarding different communities and he said that the programs are "wonderful to watch".
