Community leaders ask Indian students to stop protest rallies

Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, Jun 11 (PTI) Indian community leaders have
asked students protesting against the racial attacks on them
in Australia to put an end to their street rallies, saying
they have already served the purpose.

Indian students on Wednesday night took to the streets
of Harris Park in Sydney for the third consecutive night to
protest at what they claim are racially motivated attacks.

Yadu Singh, coordinator of the Indian Consul General's
community committee on Indian students' issues, said an urgent
meeting in Pennant Hills had ended with calls for an end to
the protests.

Attended by the community leaders and students, Singh
said, in the meeting all had agreed that there was no need for
continued rallies.

"One thing is clear - the rallies have served their
purpose and we don't want any more rallies in Harris Park,
that is the community's view," Singh said, adding "They are
disrupting the normal life of the people in the suburbs."

Singh said students present at the meeting had agreed
to pass on the request to other protesters.

Despite students' claims that the attacks are racially
motivated, Australian authorities have repeatedly said Indians
are not the target of hate crimes, according to media reports.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Wednesday warned Indian
students against "vigilante action", saying while violence in
all Australian cities was "a regrettable part" of urban life,
vigilante action was equally unwelcome.

Superintendent Robert Redfern on Wednesday expressed
sympathy for the students' concerns, but urged them not to
take matters into their own hands.

"I am not a fan of vigilante groups. I am not a fan of
people taking the law into their own hands. That's our job,"
Redfern said.

"The victims of crime that do occur in this area are
not exclusively Indian, the perpetrators of those crimes are
not exclusively Middle Eastern," he said.

Redfern said he planned to meet with Sydney's Indian
community leaders later this week.

NSW Premier Nathan Rees said a meeting with Indian
leaders last week emphasised the need for everyone to keep a
cool head and report any incidents to police immediately.

"Police have escalated their presence and their
monitoring of the situation in that part of Sydney, but
everyone is to keep calm," he said on Wednesday.

"There is no place for violence, there is no place for
this sort of antisocial behaviour in NSW or Australia."

"What I would say is there are mechanisms in place now
for appropriate dialogue to occur," he said, adding "we'll be
in ongoing discussions with the student leaders and community
leaders." PTI NC
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