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| June 15, 2010 | Kiwi club's turban ban decision a wake-up call for Sikhs: NZSC | |
Auckland: New Zealand's Cosmopolitan Clubs have said that they will not criticise a Manurewa club's decision to maintain a ban wearing of turbans in its bar despite the New Zealand Sikh Council calling it a wake-up call for Sikhs in the country. Auckland's Manurewa
Cosmopolitan Club held a poll during its annual meeting on Sunday, in which about
75 percent members said that they wanted to maintain its policy forbidding the
headwear. The vote was held after Karnail Singh was barred from entering the club
in November last year for not removing his turban. Otahuhu Cosmopolitan Club manager
Lynne Smith said that her club had no hard and fast rules, but it was sensitive
to all cultures and turbans were not a problem. She further said that she would
not criticise the Manurewa club's ban, as it was their "constitutional choice",
The New Zealand Herald reports. Mangere Cosmopolitan Club Secretary Manager, Aaron
Kirby, said that his club welcomes all cultures, but would not publicly comment
on Manurewa's ban. Meanwhile, New Zealand Human Rights Commission (HRC) held a
mediation meeting between New Zealand Sikh Council (NZSC) and the Manurewa Cosmopolitan
Club. After the meeting, HRC Commissioner Joris De Bres said that the final decision
"seems like a blast from the past ... I'm deeply disappointed", while NZSC President
Bachan Singh Nihalgarh said the decision was "a wake-up call" for Sikhs in the
country. The HRC, which had acted as a mediator shortly after Karnail was first
barred, has said that it is willing to help and resolve the differences. HRC spokeswoman
Kat Ryan said it would be in touch with both parties to see if it could assist
any further now that the club had decided not to change its rules. "If either
one of the parties are not satisfied they can apply to the director of the office
of Human Rights proceedings. If it is accepted by the director it can the taken
before the Human Rights Review Tribunal," Ryan said. |
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