Another Indian student attacked as Australia names new envoy

Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, Jun 8 (PTI) Australia Monday named an
Indian-Australian as its new envoy to New Delhi, as a fresh
case of a brutal attack on an Indian student here surfaced.

Peter Varghese, Australia's intelligence chief and a
close aide of Premier Kevin Rudd, was nominated as the new
High Commissioner to India.

Varghese, the current head of the Office of National
Assessments (ONA), will take over in August from John
McCarthy, who has served in the job since 2004.

The announcement comes as Kamal Jit, a 23-year-old
Indian student, was beaten up for the second time in a
fortnight by a group of youths here, the 11th person from the
community to be assaulted within a space of a month in
Australia.

Jit was found unconscious and bleeding by another
Indian student in western suburb of the city Sunday.

"It is very bad because we pay a lot of money and we
are living far away from our country and from our families and
we are without protection," Jit was quoted as saying in 'The
Age' newspaper Monday.

The announcement comes at a sensitive time in
bilateral relations, with the billion dollar foreign student
market under threat due to spate of attacks on Indian students
in Melbourne and Sydney. More than 80,000 Indians are
currently studying in Australia.

Jit's friends said the attack was the sixth or seventh
over the past week on the Indian students, and called for
extra police at the suburb of St Albans station at night.

The Australian Government had last week announced
setting up of a Task Force headed by the National Security
Adviser to deal with such violence.

Hundreds of Indian students Sunday rallied in
Sydney to protest against the attacks.

Just ahead of the rally, another youth from the
community complained about his newly-bought car being torched
outside his home here.

Announcing Varghese's appointment, Foreign Minister
Stephen Smith said Australia's engagement with India was
expanding rapidly in recognition of the country's growing
economic and strategic importance and influence.

Australia and India also engage closely on strategic
and defence matters, Smith said.

"In 2008 Australia and India decided to step up
strategic cooperation by holding annual talks between the
chiefs of our defence forces, and by strengthening
intelligence and counter-terrorism cooperation," the Foreign
Minister said.

Varghese will hold concurrent accreditation to Bhutan
and is expected to take up his appointment in August 2009.

He served as High Commissioner to Malaysia from
2000-2002. He also served in Australian missions
in Vienna, Washington and Tokyo. PTI NC
AM
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