Posted on 09/16/2009 1:14:54 AM PDT by myknowledge
The issue of violence against Indians in Australia is back on centre stage in India, where media reports say three Indian men were set upon by a 70-strong mob in Melbourne at the weekend.
But Victoria Police dispute the numbers and say around 15 people were seen outside the Epping pub where the bashing occurred.
The attack comes as Victoria's Premier John Brumby prepares to go on a mission to India to help repair Australia's reputation.
The attack barely rated a mention in Australia, but it is headline news for some Indian media outlets.
The brother-in-law of two of the victims, Onkar Singh, says the men were playing pool at a bar in Epping in Melbourne's east on Saturday night when a member of a large party started abusing them.
"Sukhdip is a student, and Gurdeep is the permanent resident, last two years he's staying here," he said.
"Our guys just ignore it and Gurdeep told him just to mind his own business.
"And as soon as the security guards see this happening they came to them and they took the other guy out of the joint.
"The security guard says you can keep on playing, don't worry about it. And after an hour they thought we'll leave, it's all safe now we can go and while they were going towards the car park they saw like 70 to 75 people in car park waiting for them."
He says the people in the car park were shouting; "You Indians, go back to your country".
Police have confirmed four Indian men were attacked outside an Epping bar on Saturday night.
Four men were arrested for assault questioned and then released.
A Victoria Police spokesman says officers at the scene saw only 15 people gathering, not 70.
Onkar Singh says his brothers-in-law have serious injuries and the police have been slow to act.
"Sukhdip got very badly injured in that, and Gurdeep has his jaw broken, and Mukhtair the uncle, his shoulder is broken.
"When the attack happened there was a lot of people, about 70 and they might have run away or something because they can all see the whole car park was full with them."
He says he is not happy with the way the police are pursuing the case.
"We didn't heard anything from police till now," he said.
Victoria Police say their enquires into the attack at Epping are continuing.
Can race hate against Indians get any worse in Melbourne?
Part of the problem is a lot of these attacks on Indians are being carried out by other ethnic minorities.
It is EXCEPTIONALLY sad what is happenning to the “Indians” (mostly Sikhs from Punjab) in Australia.
When i was there, I got a chance to meet many of them. They are just about as close to a “model” immigrant as you can imagine.
They have been in Australia for nearly 4 decades and have not caused a ripple. No special demands, no special “holidays” demanded. From what my hosts told me, Sikhs in Australia have the lowest welfare rate and the lowest incarceration rate and the highest per capita income.
While I have not personally cross checked those facts, the general sense I got from everyone in my visit was that these guys work hard and don’t cause any fuss and generate no crime and are tax revenue positive
To see this happening to them truly brings acid reflux to me. I am a hard core conservative but NOT a racist. I always tell people that I am ready to welcome an immigrant that learns my language and is willing to pay his/her own way and follow our rules.
What is happening to the Sikhs of Australia seems to violate that.
Part of the problem — indeed, 99% of the problem — is that policing in Victoria has gone to hell under the Brax-Brumby incompetocracy. Same with the bushfires in February, when an extraordinarily well-funded civil emergency apparatus demonstrated its thorough uselessness. Bloated bureaucracies, wheelbarrows full of feel-good nostrums, decisions made to secure Green preferences — that’s how government works in Victoria.
Fact is, Indians probably aren’t getting thumped in much greater numbers than residents and visitors of other backgrounds. It’s just that they are better at raising a fuss about it. And more power to them.
Indians in Australia say Lebanese youths behind attacks
PTI 12 June 2009, 09:04am IST
SYDNEY: Indian students on Thursday alleged that Lebanese youths were behind the attacks on them here as they took to streets for the third
consecutive night protesting against racial attacks.
The spate of racial attacks against Indians spread to Sydney after members of the community were targeted in Melbourne.
Scores of Indian students on Wednesday night took to the streets of Harris Park in Sydney for third consecutive night to protest racially-motivated attacks against them by Lebanese youths. The protesters alleged that police were ignoring their pleas for protection.
The protests came a day after PM Kevin Rudd warned Indian students against vigilante action to prevent attacks against them. Indian protesters continue to say they were being attacked by Lebanese youths. A man, who took part in the protest, was issued with a court notice for carrying an offensive weapon after being allegedly found with a piece of timber during a police search.
Meanwhile, Parramatta city council held a meeting with police, Indias consul general and members of Sydneys Indian community, with organisers saying students had agreed to stop protest rallies. Earlier on Tuesday, over 70 Indians had gathered at same place after rumours of a man being killed in an attack on an Indian cleaner in Warwick Farm.
Ping to #7.
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