Posted on 12/16/2005 6:25:11 PM PST by blam
Race riot fears turn Bondi into no-go zone
By Nick Squires In Sydney
(Filed: 17/12/2005)
Australian police warned visitors to stay away from Bondi and other famous beaches in Sydney this weekend amid fears of another flare-up of race violence between gangs of white and Middle Eastern youths.
The warning, unprecedented in a country in which the beach forms a central part of the national psyche, extended to two other cities in New South Wales.
A young surfer carries her board outside a Sydney surf club
Bondi was declared a virtual no-go zone for the weekend, along with other popular beaches such as Maroubra, the home of a notorious surfer gang.
"We have intelligence that people are intending to conduct themselves in a riotous manner armed with various weapons - baseball bats, poles and the like - and it is my intention to keep those communities safe," said Mark Goodwin, the assistant commissioner of New South Wales police.
Racist text messages and e-mails have been circulating all week calling for "war" between the two sides.
One circulating among Middle Eastern groups read: "Wake up, oh lions of Lebanon, we are the kings of the jungle."
Tension between "Anglos" and "Lebs" has been brewing for years but this is the first time it has erupted into violence on such a large scale.
Up to 1,500 police, triple the current number on the beat, will be on the streets today and 2,000 tomorrow.
"There will be lock-down areas. There will be areas where alcohol cannot be consumed or purchased," Carl Scully, the police minister, said.
"There will be roadblocks and cars confiscated and people arrested. It will be zero tolerance. We will not put up with any nonsense."
Police said a command centre had been established on the same lines as if Sydney faced a "terrorist threat".
Lebanese community leaders have held peace talks with surfers, with both calling for an end to the violence.
Celebrities including the actors Cate Blanchett and Bryan Brown have called for tolerance. Speaking on a Sydney beach, Miss Blanchett said: "Violence and racism are bad. Whenever they occur they are to be condemned. We should not turn a blind eye to them."
Australia's tabloid press and phone-in radio stations have been accused of stoking the violence.
"Violence and racism are bad. Whenever they occur they are to be condemned. We should not turn a blind eye to them."
OK. But where were these people, and the extra police,
when there was excessive violence for years directed against ordinary
people by Lebanese gangs?
when the police gave up on trying to control the gangs, they left law and order in the hands of the mob. And a mob is what they got.
It's up to the Aussies to determine whether the 'blessings' of multi-cultureism are worth having the Lebonese do to Austrialia, what they did to Lebanon.
Why would a person flee a cesspool country (Mexico, Lebanon, ect) and try to make a BETTER country (USA, Austrailia .... even France) into the very cesspool they fled? Is stupidity in their genes, or is it simply a culture that should be extermianted?
The officials also REMOVED handguns from the common man; so the average man has no defence from these thugs.
An armed society, is a polite society.
This is about religion and culture, it is not about racism.
BTTT
"Celebrities including the actors Cate Blanchett and Bryan Brown have called for tolerance."
Oh well, that settles it then. It'll be just like the gangs magically dispersing when Michael Jackson moonwalked between the two and wiggled his perverted behind in the "Beat It" video.
What a relief.
I will only be disappointed if the "Anglos" lie down and take it. But I think the Aussies will give a good accounting of themselves before this is through.
I guess I'm not a common man - as I'm sitting in Australia with a gun at my waist.
Let me know if you need some 'essentials'.
Emailed some Aussie friends and suggested a Koran pig roast at the beach.
Moose should appreciate that.
Good for you mate. I read your description yesterday of Americans' misunderstanding of the Aussie laws and that you all are not disarmed. Comforting to read...keep a stiff upper lip.
Thank goodness we yanks are too bright to allow millions of bitter foreigners to sneak into our country and set up hostile enclaves.
Good hunting, mate.
Forgot the sarcasm tag?
;^)
For sure!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.