Deputy Belgrade Mayor Vesic: "Australians robbed Djokovic blind, he should check his wallet"

The deputy mayor has sided with the world's top tennis player

Novak Djokovic is going through a real Golgotha in Australia, where he was treated like the worst criminal at the Melbourne airport, only for the agony to continue later with five days spent in a hotel for immigrants, under inhumane conditions.

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In the end, Novak won in court, but even that is not enough, because Minister of Immigration Alex Hawke can expel him from the country at any moment, because, according to the law, his word is stronger than that of the court.

Deputy Mayor of Belgrade Goran Vesic has expressed his support for Novak Djokovic in an opinion piece for Novosti, which we are carrying here in its entirety.

"There is a certain minister of immigration in Australia, his name is Alex Hawke. Nobody's ever heard of him before, but everyone in the world knows who Novak Djokovic is. And now that Hawke person is considering whether to expel Nole, the greatest tennis player of all time. After that news, the whole world finally found out who Hawke, a minister in Scott Morrison's government, was.

And Mr. Scott too would have remained anonymous if he hadn't kept Australian citizens under house arrest for almost two years. He treated them like convicts, so it seems he began to like it. And everything points to his thought process being, 'So why shouldn't I take it out on Nole as well? Elections are coming soon, and if I take Novak's scalp, there's another mandate for me.'

However, Judge Anthony Kelly, who ruled in Novak's favor, lives and works in Australia. Mr. Kelly released Nole from that immigration hotel that we'd call a dump in Serbia. Anyone who watched the online court date could notice how uncomfortable Judge Kelly was because of the torment that our Nole survived at the hands of the Australian state, that is, by people like Prime Minister Morrison and, we found out about him, Minister Hawke. The man (the judge) almost crossed himself in disbelief when he heard that all legal immigration procedures had been violated. And they robbed Nole, too, taking his wallet and all his equipment. Nole, check your credit cards.

I continue to follow the news from Australia and I can't stop feeling stunned. The court ruled that Nole is a free man, that he can play at the Australian Open, which he has won nine times already, then - there he is, Hawke jumps onto the court. Who the heck is this, I think to myself. And is there an end to this harassment of the greatest athlete in the world?

Then I realize how false our idea of their democracies is. Minister Hawke will decide, as PM Morrison's extension cable - who gives a damn about the court. Thus, in the biggest sports-diplomatic scandal in history, our Nole and Judge Kelly found themselves on one side, and the Australian government on the other.

So I'm thinking about one more thing. The opposition in Serbia accuses us of being dictators, but believe me, if (President) Vucic and us, his associates, were in the role of the Australian prime minister and their government, even if we considered what to do for a month, annulling a court decision would never occur to us. It simply would not cross our minds.

Of course, we wouldn't find ourselves in such a situation where we harass any guest or athlete who comes to Serbia and Belgrade. We have been welcomed and will be welcoming each of them with equal respect and hospitality, hoping they stay as long as possible and feel at home.

It seems that some other countries that are boasting about their democracies - their mouths are full of it - believe hospitality means putting their guests in prison, particularly if one of them is the best athlete in the world. But if Mr. Scott and Mr. Hawke are prone to some fascist ticks that haunt them, Honorable Judge Kelly shows that we should not judge nations lightly, but only individuals who represent them.

It's unfortunate for the Australians, above all. Novak made us proud again. He could have returned home immediately, backed down, but he again showed that he wins wherever he plays, on the court and in the courtroom, not wanting to leave even a hint of suspicion that he cheated someone. That is why the whole world sees Novak as a hero, and in Hawke and Morrison small-time, calculating politicians who would like to profit from Nole's fame before elections.

But let's leave Morrison and Hawke to the Australians. From March 18th until the 20th, Serbia and Belgrade will show who we are and what we are like. We are proud to host the World Athletics Indoor Championships, which will be held in our capital. The best Australian athletes will also come here. They are welcome, they will stay in the best hotels and we will not even think of putting them in jails, taking away their wallets or equipment, let alone expelling them from the country or taking revenge on them in some other way. We simply neither can nor want to do that. Our mentality is such, and so is our policy.

Morrison and Hawke do those dishonorable things. We loathe such people."

(Telegraf.rs)