The Hindu : National : “Some attacks were racially motivated”

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Wednesday, Jun 10, 2009
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“Some attacks were racially motivated”

Melbourne: Admitting, for the first time, that some of the recent attacks on Indians in Australia were “racially motivated,” Victorian Police Commissioner Simon Overland on Tuesday said the police force should be “multicultural” and asked the community members to join it.

He said the Victorian police had interacted with Indian students and were taking steps to make the environment in the State safe for everyone. Mr. Overland, who had been denying any racial angle to the incidents, told foreign journalists that some of the recent attacks were “racist.”

The police strength in Melbourne was not sufficient considering the expanding population. “The numbers are an issue and we will have 11,250 cops by the middle of next year. This means there will be 350 more cops than now.”

Mr. Overland said racism and violence were wrong and that the police were working to make sure that the situation did not go out of control.

Earlier, the Police Commissioner addressed a select gathering of ethnic media and police officers at the Melbourne Convention Centre and hoped to work with the community to consolidate multiculturalism.

Meanwhile, rattled by the first act of retaliation by the Indian community, Australian authorities asked Indian students to disband their patrol groups and “let the police do their job.”

Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the federal government had been working with Victoria and other States to ensure that Indian students felt safe. “As a national government we are concerned about any manifestation of violence in any part of the community,” Ms. Gillard was quoted as saying by the local media.

Her comments came in the wake of hundreds of Indian students protesting against the continuing attacks on the community members, especially students. The police said they had to call the dog squad to control the protesters who were wielding sticks and baseball bats. The students gathered in the main street of Harris Park to protest against the recent racial violence. — PTI

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