Indian students hold rally in Sydney despite Rudd's warning

Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, Jun 11 (PTI) Unfazed by Australian Prime
Minister Kevin Rudd's warning against "vigilante action",
Indian students took to the streets for the third consecutive
night in Sydney to protest against continued racial attacks on
them even as community leaders sought an end to such rallies.

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. The
protesters alleged that police were ignoring their pleas for
protection.

Meanwhile, Parramatta city council held a meeting with
police, India's Consul General and members of Sydney's Indian
community, with organisers saying students had agreed to stop
protest rallies.

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

"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.

Rudd had on Wednesday said while violence in all
Australian cities was "a regrettable part" of urban life,
vigilante action was equally unwelcome.

Earlier on Tuesday night, over 70 Indian men had
gathered at same place after rumours of a man being killed in
an attack and assault on an Indian cleaner in Warwick Farm.

Police arrested two men during the protest. One was
charged with carrying a weapon, a metal pole, while the other
was released without charge, a police statement said.

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard on
Thursday said that violent attacks on Indian students in the
country were extremely concerning.

"Whatever their cause, the crimes against students
were extremely concerning," Gillard said.

"I think it would break the heart of any Australian to
see an Indian student who has come to this country to get a
good education the subject of a violent attack," she was
quoted as saying by media reports here.

Welcoming the Victorian government's move to increase
sentencing for perpetrators of hate crimes, Gillard said, "the
advice from the police is that this is a more generalised
problem with lawful conduct."

On Universities Australia, an association of
Australian universities, demand that all international
students be given travel concession cards to help improve
their safety following the spate of attacks in Sydney and
Melbourne, Gillard said "she would consider their proposal."

"We are going to be considering the matter of what
more we can do for Indian students and international students
generally when ministers from around the country meet in
Hobart tomorrow," she added. PTI NC
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