Alma Zadic, the Austrian minister of justice born in Bosnia-Herzegovina against whom right-wing populists have campaigned in recent days, thanked all those who were in solidarity with her, saying that this gave her strength and support.
“This solidarity makes it clear that the vast majority of our society is against discrimination and racism. Together, we set an example for a converging and indivisible society,” Zadic wrote.
She stated that no distinction should be made as to where one comes from, what religion they are, and what gender or sexual orientation. “I want to thank you heartily,” Zadic wrote on Twitter.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz on Thursday expressed full support for the new justice minister in her confrontation with hate speech over her Bosnian roots.
Alma Zadic is one of four ministers from the Greens in the new government of Conservative Chancellor Kurz, who was sworn in on Tuesday.
She is the first Austrian of immigrant background to enter the government.
Zadic, whose family fled the conflict in BiH when she was 10, recently faced a spate of online insults over her origins. Austrian media reported that she had been offered continuous police protection. On Thursday, Kurz wrote on Twitter that “online hate speech is a disgusting phenomenon of our time. There’s no room for this kind of behavior! ”
He added that the government would “act absolutely against hate speech on the net”, regardless of the source of such messages, and added: “Alma Zadic and all others affected by this have my full support.”, KLix.ba news portal reports.
