18 Indians detained for `breaching peace` during rally in Aus

Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, Jun 1 (PTI) About 18 youths were detained for
allegedly "breaching peace" during a rally by Indian students
demanding justice for the victims of racial attacks in
Australia.

Thousands of students, shaken by a wave of racial
assaults including an 25-year-old Shravan Kumar who is
battling for life in a local hospital, however, called off
their protest at 5.15 am (local time).

The protestors who blocked the busiest street of the city
have accused the police of "ramrodding" them to break up their
sit-in, according to media reports here.

"There are constant discussions with the Australian
authorities in regards to the safety and security of our
students," Anita Nayyar, Indian Consulate General in
Melbourne, told PTI.

Nayyar said she had no information if any student was
hurt in Sunday night rally and added that the identity of the
18 detained protestors was not known.

"I assume everyone has a right to express themselves, but
within Australian laws," she said, adding investigations will
follow will be transparent and fair one in regard to the
detained.

The 'peace rally' was organised by bodies like Federation
of Indian Students in Australia (FISA) and National Union of
Students.

The protest was kicked off on Sunday from outside the
Royal Melbourne Hospital, where Kumar is in a critical
condition after being stabbed by a screwdriver by a group of
teens on Sunday last week.

The protestors claim that the violent attacks on Indians
in Australia are racially motivated.

FISA founder Gautam Gupta said the peace rally was
"hijacked" by some of trouble makers and they were not even
the part of the student associations.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland agreed
on Gupta's claim, saying the protest appeared to have been
"hijacked" by a group of trouble maker. The protestors who
were not Indians had also joined the demonstration and some of
them were drunk, he said.

Meanwhile, Gupta said FISA had no plans to organise
rallies in future.

Overland, according to TV channels, justified the use of
force on the demonstrators.

"I watched the whole event -- I didn't see any
inappropriate use of force," he said, adding "Now in that,
there were blows because many (of the protesters) had been
linked and resistance was going on. If someone inadvertently
got hit in the mouth, I regret that, but that came about from
the actions of the demonstrators after they had been given
every opportunity to leave the area."

Overland said the protestors had "made their point" and
been given repeated opportunities to disperse before police
took action.

The police officer said the Indian students had
petitioned him with a range of requests, including increased
police action against those inciting racial attacks and
curbing binge-drinking.

He said one of the police officer's hand was bitten
during the protest.

"One of my officers was bitten on the hand and suffered
an injury as a result of that," he said.

"There was some violence, it could have been a lot worse,
but overall I think we got out of it quite well," he added.

One protestor was arrested for assault and another
charged on summons for throwing objects through windows at
Flinders Street station yesterday, he said.

"I think their demonstration was hijacked -- it initially
started as a peaceful demonstration," Overland said.

"The organisers of that demonstration then left. There
were other people who became involved, most of them weren't
Indian. They were there for their own reasons, and I think the
whole thing just got hijacked and got out of control."

Police had to shut down the bottle shop at the Young and
Jacksons hotel.

Victoria Police will send an officer to India to talk to
people considering study in Australia. PTI