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16 held for racist attacks in Sydney

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Commenting on the week-end violence in Sydney, seen in some quarters as "racial unrest," Australian Prime Minister John Howard said: "I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this country." He told reporters on Monday that Australia "has been able to absorb millions of people from different parts of the world over a period of now some 40 years." Thirty-one persons were injured in Sunday's violence, and 16 were arrested following attacks on people of suspected Arab descent in Sydney. The violence followed reports that "Lebanese youth" had assaulted two life-savers at the beach.

AP reports:

Violence on the streets of Sydney spilled into a second night on Monday as scores of youths drove through beachside suburbs smashing windows of stores, homes and apartments, police said.

Any hopes that the Sunday riot would be an isolated incident were shattered after dark when car loads of youths rampaged through southeastern Sydney chased by hundreds of police vehicles and a helicopter.

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