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WORLD> Asia-Pacific
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Indian students rally in Sydney over violent attacks
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-09 09:24 SYDNEY -- Scores of Indian students marched through central Sydney Sunday to protest recent attacks that have generated outrage on the subcontinent and become a diplomatic headache for Australia.
About 200 students chanting "end racist violence now" made their way through the city, following a wave of assaults on students that Indian media have dubbed "curry bashings," with headlines such as "Australia, land of racists."
"We are also trying to raise the message about the reasons why this violence is occurring and why international students, in particular, are being victimised." Fears the protest could turn violent after police had to break up a similar demonstration in Melbourne last week proved unfounded, with authorities not reporting any incidents. Bollywood's biggest labour union said last week that its members would refuse to work in Australia until attacks on Indian students ceased. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called his counterpart Manmohan Singh last month to assure him about student safety in the country amid reports some Indian parents were fearful of sending their children to the country. Many of the most serious attacks have occurred in the western suburbs of the southern city of Melbourne, where police estimate Indians account for about 30 percent of all robbery and assault victims. The issue came to a head late last month when student Sravan Kumar Theerthala was left comatose after being stabbed with a screwdriver by gatecrashers at a party. Since then, the government has called in the former head of Australia's elite Special Air Service regiment to lead a task force examining the attacks. |
