Attacks on Indian students not racism, says Oz Senate panel

Natasha Chaku
Melbourne, Nov 27 (PTI) Amid a spate of attacks on Indian
youths in Australia, a Senate committee which probed the issue
has concluded that the assaults were more likely to be
"opportunistic robberies" than prompted by racism, prompting a
student body to say the authorities "are still in denial."

"There was very little evidence that the assaults were
based on racism or discrimination," Committee Chairman and
Liberal Party senator Gary Humphries told 'The Australian'.
The Senate committee report on the welfare of
international students, tabled in Parliament Thursday, found
that the majority of evidence suggested that assaults against
the youths were more likely to be "opportunistic robberies"
than prompted by racism.
A total of 94 cases of attacks on Indians have been
reported so far this year in Australia as against 17 incidents
of assaults in 2008.
Reacting to the report, Federation of Indian Students of
Australia (FISA) President Amit Menghani said the authorities
"are still in denial of the major issue."
Menghani said it was not just a matter of some students
not being safety conscious. The inquiry "failed" to address
the issue "and it could really damage the reputation of the
Australian education system again," he was quoted as saying.
International Education Association of Australia Director
Dennis Murray also criticised the report, saying "it doesn't
get to grips with the issue of social cohesion". (More) PTI
KIM
SKT


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