Allochtonenrellen in Australië

Nieuwe uitbarsting van raciaal geweld in Australië

In de Australische stad Sydney zijn maandagavond opnieuw rassenrellen uitgebroken. De politie heeft zeker vijf aanhoudingen verricht. Een verslaggever van het plaatselijke radiostation 2GB meldde dat er ‘chaos’ was uitgebroken in een winkelcentrum bij Cronulla Beach in het zuiden van de stad.

Groepen mannen trokken rond in de buurt en vernielden auto's. De politie heeft straten afgezet. Ambulances en politiewagens rijden af en aan. Een ooggetuige vertelde aan het persbureau Associated Press dat er zeker vijftig auto's met ‘mannen met een Midden-Oostenachtig voorkomen’ naar de wijk waren gekomen. Een aantal mannen stapte uit en begon met honkbalknuppels op auto's te meppen. Er zou zeker een gewonde zijn gevallen. Een andere getuige zei schoten gehoord te hebben. Wie die zou hebben afgevuurd, is niet duidelijk.
    Kort voor de nieuwe uitbarsting van geweld had premier John Howard een oproep gedaan voor etnische en religieuze tolerantie. Volgens de politie zaten blanke racisten achter de rellen waardoor meer dan dertig mensen gewond raakten en zestien mensen werden aangehouden.   ...
    De onlusten ontstonden toen duizenden blanke, jonge Australiërs na oproepen via mobiele telefoons en sms'jes bijeenkwamen om een strand te ‘heroveren’ ten zuiden van de stad. Aan het Cronulla-strand was er een week geleden een incident met twee strandwachten die werden gemolesteerd door twee Australiërs, afkomstig uit het Midden-Oosten. Later verspreidde het geweld zich naar een andere strand en delen van de stad.


Uit: De Volkskrant, 13-12-2005, van medewerker Marc van den Broek (kopartikel)

Reportage | Dronken,blanke Australische jongeren jagen op alles wat er Arabisch uitziet

‘Die Libanezen willen het strand overnemen’

Voor de tweede achtereenvolgende dag eisten relschoppers bij Sydney, met het bier achter de kiezen, het strand terug van de Libanezen.

De 91-jarige Ralph kan maandag weer over de boulevard van Cronulla wandelen. Zondag verhinderden ernstige rassenrellen dat hij zijn straat in de voorstad van Sydney kon verlaten. De politie had alles geblokkeerd en helikopters vlogen boven zijn huis. ‘Dit is het ergste dat er ooit in New South Wales is gebeurd’, zegt de aangeslagen man, die hier al sinds 1948 woont.
    Maar dezelfde avond is het weer raak. Opnieuw trekken blanke jongeren met honkbalknuppels door zijn wijk en het verderop gelegen Caringbah. Hun woede ontstak dit weekeinde, toen Libanezen twee strandwachten in elkaar hadden geslagen. Zo’n vijfduizend jongeren jaagden op iedereen die er Arabisch uitzag, vaak dronken en getooid met de Australische vlag om de rug.
    Slachtoffers werden met bierflessen achtervolgd, in elkaar geslagen of van het strand verjaagd. Ook politieagenten die hen beschermden en medisch personeel dat gewonden afvoerde, kregen de volle laag van de relschoppers. Ze eisten het strand terug, zo vlak voor de zomervakantie.
    ‘Begrijpelijk’, vindt Gabriel (17), die op de boulevard met zijn vrienden kijkt naar de cameraploegen. ‘De spanning loopt hier al jaren op. Meer en meer Libanezen uit de stad komen naar dit strand. Ze willen het strand overnemen.’ Hij vindt het geweld afschuwelijk. ‘Ik was erbij ja, maar om te kijken’, zegt de tiener. ‘Het gedrag van de Libanezen is ergerlijk.’
    Zijn vriendin Myncala (18): ‘Ze zeiden vervelende, seksistische dingen tegen mij. Gisteren was het eerst gezellig op het strand. Ineens ging het fout. Het was een kleine groep die geweld gebruikte. De meeste mensen keken toe.’   ...
    Toen de rust zondagnacht was teruggekeerd, had de politie zestien mensen gearresteerd en waren er enige tientallen gewonden gevallen, van wie één ernstig, een blanke Australiër die kennelijk uit wraak was neergestoken. Nadat de Libanezen waren verjaagd uit Cronulla, gingen ze hun gram halen in andere buurten. Maandagavond gooiden honderden mannen met een Arabisch uiterlijk stenen naar agenten die de moskee waarin zij zich ophielden, wilden beschermen.   ...
    Vorige week ging het fout met de ‘Lebs’, de grootste etnische groep uit het Midden-Oosten in Australië. Twee jonge strandwachten, vrijwilligers die in hun karakteristieke geel-rode uniform waakten over de veiligheid op het strand, zouden in elkaar zijn geslagen. Ze hadden aan Libanezen gevraagd elders te gaan voetballen omdat ze andere gasten hinderen. ‘Dit incident was de vonk’, zegt burgemeester Kevin Schreiber van de deelgemeente Sutherland, waaronder Cronulla valt, die maandagmiddag op het strand aanwezig is voor overleg met politie en de premier van New South Wales.
    ‘Australië is een groot land en heeft vrijwilligers nodig. De veelal jonge strandwachten zorgen ervoor dat iedereen veilig kan zwemmen. Dat zij klappen krijgen, is ongekend.’ Hij schudt zijn hoofd. ‘Daarmee wil ik niet goedpraten wat er is gebeurd. Ik ben ontdaan over wat er zich gisteren in mijn gemeente heeft afgespeeld. Dit kan niet in Cronulla, kan niet in Australië. Het is ongehoord dat de ene groep Australiërs de ander verjaagt. Het strand is voor iedereen.’
    De burgemeester weet dat ultrarechtse groeperingen van de onvrede gebruik maken om mensen op te zetten. Er is het weekeinde een volgens hem ‘idiote’ sms rondgestuurd met de oproep om zondag naar Cronulla te komen om de Libanezen een lesje te lezen.
    Van genieten op het strand is voorlopig geen sprake. Er zijn maandagmiddag nauwelijks badgasten, ondanks het mooie weer. John, een Libanees van de tweede generatie, is aan het werk. Hij is in Sydney geboren, zijn ouders zijn in de jaren zeventig naar Australië gekomen. ‘Eikels zijn het, die Libanezen’, is zijn bondige commentaar op het geweld op het strand. ‘Ze moeten zich aanpassen aan het leven hier, net zoals ik heb gedaan.’


Uit: De Volkskrant, 13-12-2005, ANP

Extra volmachten voor politie in Sydney

De politie in Sydney krijgt extra bevoegdheden om de rellen in de stad de kop in te drukken. Dat maakte premier Morris Iemma van de Australische deelstaat New South Wales bekend, nadat het in de nacht van maandag op dinsdag opnieuw tot ongeregeldheden was gekomen.

Bij het jongste geweld raakten zeven mensen gewond. Enkele tientallen auto's liepen schade op, winkels werden geplunderd en passanten mishandeld. Volgens de politie, die elf arrestaties verrichtte, betrof het dit keer een vergeldingsactie van jongens van Arabische herkomst.
    Sydney is de hoofdstad van New South Wales. Iemma heeft het regionale parlement teruggeroepen van het kerstreces. De parlementariërs zullen donderdag de maatregelen goedkeuren. De oppositie in New South Wales heeft zich erachter geschaard en de plannen hoeven daarom niet op weerstand te rekenen.   ...
    De relschoppers trokken maandagavond in een konvooi van veertig auto's de welvarende wijk Cronulla Beach in het zuiden van ‘s lands grootste stad binnen. Zij waren gewapend met honkbalknuppels en breekijzers. In de nabijgelegen wijk Brighton-Le-Sands bekogelden jongeren de politie.
    In Cronulla Beach begonnen de ongeregeldheden zondag, toen ongeveer 5000 deels dronken en jongeren mensen van Arabische herkomst aanvielen en mishandelden. Een week eerder waren hier twee strandwachten mishandeld, mogelijk door mannen van Libanese herkomst.
 

Uit: De Volkskrant, 14-12-2005, van medewerker Marc van den Broek

Achtergrond | Positief beeld van perfect immigratieland is al langer aan het verbleken

Blank Australië heeft zijn langste tijd gehad

Na de rassenrellen van de afgelopen dagen struikelen de deskundigen in Australië over elkaar om te verklaren dat het beeld dat hun land blank is, zijn langste tijd heeft gehad.

Tussentitel: Discussie over integratie gaat niet meer over aboriginals

De gespannen situatie na de rassenrellen van de afgelopen dagen in Sydney is nog lang niet weggeëbd. Het imago van Australië als een succesvol immigratieland heeft internationaal een gevoelige knauw gekregen. De vraag waar iedereen mee zit, luidt: waarom zijn blanke Australiërs op het strand van de voorstad Cronulla zo tekeergegaan tegen Libanezen, van wie de meesten in Australië zijn geboren?
    Dit land met ruim twintig miljoen inwoners is het schoolvoorbeeld hoe talrijke nationaliteiten zonder noemenswaardige problemen met elkaar omgaan. En dat al jaren lang. De afgelopen tientallen jaren heeft het land miljoenen migranten opgenomen. Een kwart van de huidige bevolking is niet in Australië geboren. Na de Tweede . Wereldoorlog zijn er massaal Grieken, Italianen, Nederlanders en Duitsers neergestreken in het land waar sinds 1800 de dienst wordt uitgemaakt door Engelsen.
    In de jaren zeventig trokken Aziaten massaal naar dit land, inclusief vele bootvluchtelingen uit Vietnam. De Libanezen zijn na en tijdens de burgeroorlog in hun land naar Australië getrokken. Ze staan in de migrantentoptien op de negende plaats, onder de Nederlanders. Het land telt naar schatting ruim 160 duizend Libanezen, van wie de meesten in de grote steden Sydney en Melbourne wonen.
    Premier John Howard bestrijdt het beeld dat de droom van Australië als het voorbeeld van een succesvol immigratieland in elkaar is gestort. 'Zulke rellen doen zich in elk land zo nu en dan voor', zei hij vlak voordat hij vertrok naar Maleisië voor een ontmoeting met Aziatische landen. De rellen hebben volgens hem niet automatisch met racisme te maken.
    Daar is niet iedereen het mee eens. Morris lemma, de premier van New South Wales waarin Sydney ligt, sprak van 'het lelijke gezicht van het racisme'. Elders is eveneens sprake van moslim haat. Zo werden in Adelaide en Perth aanslagen gepleegd op moslimscholen en een taxichauffeur.
   De deskundigen struikelen over elkaar om te verklaren dat het beeld dat Australië een blank land is, zijn langste tijd heeft gehad. 'We moeten ons voorbereiden dat over een jaar of vijftig de typisch blanke Engelsen niet meer de meerderheid vormen', zegt hoogleraar migratievraagstukken Mary Kalantzis.   ...
    Maar met de bonte mengeling van mensen die er nu zijn, gaat het goed, althans tot voor kort. De discussie over integratie richtte zich vooral op de positie van de oorspronkelijke bewoners van Australië, de aboriginals, die veelal een marginaal hebben opgebouwd.
    In die positie dreigen nu ook de Libanezen te komen, zegt jeugdleider Fadi Rahman. Hij heeft in de wijk Lidcombe, in het westen van Sydney waar veel Libanezen wonen, een tempel van de vrijmetselaars verbouwd tot fitnesscentrum. Hij veroordeelt het geweld van beide kanten. Maar hij wil begrip voor de positie van de Libanezen.
    'Jonge Libanezen hebben al jaren het gevoel dat ze gemarginaliseerd worden, dat ze aan de zijlijn 'zijn gezet', zegt Rahman. 'Hun stem wordt niet gehoord. Dat geeft een gevoel van wanhoop en hierdoor ontstaat haat tegen de mensen die ze dat aandoen. Wat moeten we nog meer doen om geaccepteerd te worden? We zijn hier toch ook geboren en getogen?'
    Het terroristisch geweld in Bali in 2002, waar 88 Australiërs omkwamen, en de aanslagen in New York, Madrid en Londen hebben het imago van de Libanezen geen goed gedaan. Zij vormen de grootste groep uit het Midden-Oosten die in Australië woont; de tweede;
groep uit de Arabische wereld komt uit Egypte:
    Rahman: 'Sinds de aanslagen van 11 september 2001 menen de blanke Australiërs rechtvaardiging te vinden om Libanezen te mishandelen. Wij zijn in hun ogen terroristen. Dat krijgen Libanezen ook te horen op het strand van Cronulla. Onzin, we zijn vredelievende mensen die van Australië houden.'


Uit: De Volkskrant, 16-12-2005, ANP.

Politie waarschuwt Australische relschoppers

Inwoners van drie Australische steden kunnen zich dit weekeinde maar beter niet op het strand begeven. De politie heeft daarvoor gewaarschuwd omdat relschoppers hebben opgeroepen tot nieuwe confrontaties. De politie sprak vrijdag van ‘grote aantallen mensen’ die van plan zouden zijn weer te gaan vechten.

In Sydney is het in de nacht van donderdag op vrijdag opnieuw onrustig geweest. Bij verschillende incidenten pakte de politie negentien mensen op, meldde The Sydney Morning Herald. De rellen bleven beperkt, maar voor het weekeinde vreest de politie het ergste. Ze heeft extra bevoegdheden gekregen om de relschoppers aan te pakken. Zo is in sommige wijken alcohol taboe. Op zaterdag zullen duizend en op zondag 1500 agenten worden ingezet.
    De ongeregeldheden begonnen zondag in de wijk Cronulla van Sydney, toen duizenden deels dronken jongeren mensen met een Arabisch uiterlijk aanvielen. In de nachten daarop namen jongeren van Libanese komaf wraak in Cronulla en andere wijken. De groepen jutten elkaar via e-mail en sms op naar het strand te gaan.
    In Australische media zeggen Libanese jongeren, die zichzelf de Leeuwen van Libanon noemen, massaal naar Sydney te gaan. ‘We denken aan dertig auto's en een paar bussen met Libanezen, Serviërs, Italianen en Grieken om met ons mee te doen’, aldus een jonge Libanees in Melbourne.   ...


Van: Sidney Morning Herald (Australië), 08-12-2005, door Bonnie Malkin, Edmund Tadros en Les Kennedy (origineel artikel hier )

Bad blood boils in the Cronulla stomp

ON THE same day a teenager was charged over the bashing of lifesavers at Cronulla, more violence erupted at the beach, and an email circulated urging locals to reclaim their suburb from visiting gangs.
    An 18-year-old concreter from Bankstown was released on bail yesterday on the condition he stay away from the beach and from his alleged victims of an attack on Sunday.
    While he returned to work, racial tension resurfaced at the beach when a group of young men started brawling with three locals outside Cronulla's lifesaving club, then turned on a news photographer as police intervened.
    Police arrested a 20-year-old man from Riverwood and charged him with smashing the photographer's camera. They were still looking for the rest of the men last night and said they had not ruled out a link between yesterday's violence and Sunday's attack.
    Erika Lamour, 18, was at the beach yesterday when the violence broke out. "I saw a group of ethnic people come down as usual and try to start a fight," she said. "They always do it. I didn't actually see the fight. But I saw everyone running towards the club."
    Ms Lamour said the gangs that roamed the beach targeted the locals. "They always come down trying to start trouble. It's the only reason we don't want to come down, because we know we will get harassed."
    She said she had received an email asking locals to come to the beach this Sunday. "I got an email this morning saying that all the [Sutherland] Shire people should come down on Sunday and we should reclaim the Shire."
     After Sunday's violence, lifesavers said gangs had been intimidating them and beachgoers in the southern and eastern suburbs for two years. The State Opposition says police cannot respond to the violence quickly enough because they have lost 18 officers in the Cronulla area.
    Chief Superintendent Robert Redfern said yesterday's violence started at 4.20pm when three local youths made a comment to a group of about six Middle Eastern-looking men at the beach. The comment sparked a fight.
    "As a result of the fight, one of the males coming off the beach received a cut to the face and some bruising," he said.
    Detective Inspector Steve O'Grady said one of the men involved in the fight had left the beach before police arrived. He said tensions were still high when they got there.
    "One of the local St George and Sutherland Shire Leader photographers … came around to take photos and one set upon him," Inspector O'Grady said. The photographer suffered minor injuries.
    Superintendent Redfern denied reports that locals had run out of the nearby Northies Cronulla Hotel to join the fight.
    He said police were taking the threat of trouble on Sunday seriously and would have an increased presence on the beach.
    The Police Minister, Carl Scully, announced on Tuesday that six officers would bolster Cronulla Beach patrols.
    The 18-year-old charged over Sunday's attacks was ordered to appear in Sutherland Local Court on January 19. Police are still looking for 11 youths over the assault.


Van: Daily Telegraph (Australië), 08-12-2005, door Luke McIlveen en Stephen Downie (origineel artikel hier )

Calls for calm over local revenge

RACIAL tension at Cronulla beach threatened to explode yesterday after a brawl erupted near the scene where two lifesavers were attacked last weekend.

The violence came as a text message circulated in Sutherland Shire, urging locals to come to Cronulla this weekend to take revenge on Middle Eastern gangs. Police called for calm, fearing Cronulla could become a flash point for violence this summer.
    A man was treated for facial lacerations after a one-on-one confrontation near the North Cronulla Surf Club yesterday.
    One witness said the trouble began when three "Aussie guys" began arguing with a group of teenagers of Middle Eastern appearance, and the argument spilled in to a brawl.
    Streets in Cronulla were cordoned off at about 4.30pm as police began a manhunt with the aid of dog squad and police chopper Polair.
    A man was taken to Miranda police station, where he was expected to be charged with malicious damage.
    A spokesman for Surf Life Saving Sydney said no lifesavers had been involved in the brawl.
    Police are now preparing for the grim possibility Cronulla will become a focus of tensions between gangs made up of young men of Middle Eastern descent and local surfers.
    Officers appealed for calm as disturbing text messages circulating around the Sutherland Shire yesterday urged "Aussies" to take revenge against "Lebs and wogs".
    "This Sunday every Aussie in the Shire get down to North Cronulla to support Leb and wog bashing day," an SMS seen by The Daily Telegraph said.
    "Bring your mates and let's show them that this is our beach and they are never welcome ... let's kill these boys," the message said.
    Cronulla patrol commander Superintendent Robert Redfern said police were concerned about the SMS and warned the community officers would not tolerate vigilante retribution.
    "Parents should talk to young people to tell them it doesn't make sense to become involved," he said.
    "People should be aware there will be police presence on and around the beach this weekend."
    Fears of revenge attacks at Cronulla came as a leader of Sydney's most notorious surf gang, the Bra Boys from Maroubra, warned of further violence.
    Champion surfer Koby Abberton told The Daily Telegraph Sydney's beaches had become the new battleground for warring racial groups.
    Abberton, who was convicted last month of perverting the course of justice in relation to a murder charge against his brother, Jai, who was acquitted, broke his silence to warn that Sydney's beaches were ready to explode.
    The world-renowned surfer claimed Maroubra was Sydney's most peaceful beach - but only because the notorious Bra Boys had restored order.


Van: CNN, 11-12-2005, AP

Strike force for Sydney race riots

Police formed a strike force Monday to track down the instigators of a day and night of racial riots that left more than 30 people injured in a string of Sydney beachside suburbs.

"Let's be very clear, the police will be unrelenting in their fight against these thugs and hooligans," New South Wales state political leader Morris Iemma said.
    Racially motivated rioting erupted Sunday after thousands of drunken white youths attacked police and people of Middle Eastern appearance at Cronulla beach in southern Sydney.
    It spread later with retaliatory attacks by groups of youths of Arab appearance who stabbed one man and smashed dozens of cars.
    The violence shocked this city of 4 million which prides itself on being a largely harmonious cultural melting pot.
    Sydney's Daily Telegraph tabloid's front page headline, over a picture of white youths attacking a man of Arab appearance on a train, read: "Our disgrace."
    Iemma said the riots, "showed the ugly side of racism in this country."
    Prime Minister John Howard condemned the rioting, but added: "I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this country."
    Iemma said Muslim leaders and community leaders from the suburbs hit by rioting would meet later Monday in a bid to ease tensions and prevent a recurrence of the violence.
    Police arrested 28 people in hours of street battles that left 31 people, including two ambulance officers and five police, injured, New South Wales police said in a statement. One man was hospitalized after being stabbed in the back.
    One lawmaker said anti-Muslim resentment that has risen since the September 11 attacks in the United States and the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia that killed 88 Australians also played a role.
    Government lawmaker Bruce Baird said many Cronulla locals were angry, particularly after six women from the area were killed in the Bali bombings.
    "Where this riot took place is actually the site of where we've got the Bali memorial for these women," Baird told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio.
    Asked if the rioters could have been influenced by the Bali and September 11 attacks, Baird said: "I think so."
    Deputy Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said neo-Nazis were believed to be involved in fanning the violence.
    "That, in fact, is something that we're following up," he told Australian television's Nine network.
    A day of confrontations began when 5,000 white youths and adults, many of them drunk, wrapped in Australian flags and chanting racist slurs, fought a series of skirmishes with police, attacked people of Arab appearance and assaulted a pair of ambulance officers in Cronulla.
    The violence was a reaction to reports that youths of Lebanese ancestry were responsible for an attack last weekend on two of the beach's volunteer life guards.
    One white teenager had the words "We grew here, you flew here" painted on his back.
   Two paramedics in an ambulance were injured as they tried to get youths of Middle Eastern appearance out of the Cronulla Surf Lifesaving Club, where they had fled to escape one mob.

Calm returns
Days ago, police increased the number of officers patrolling the beach after mobile phone text messages began circulating calling for retaliation for the attack on the lifeguards.
    Television images of the alcohol and hate-fueled brawls in Cronulla sparked a string of retaliations in nearby suburbs with cars full of young men of Arab descent smashing 40 cars with sticks and baseball bats, police said.
    A man of Arab appearance was being hunted after stabbing a white man in the back outside a golf club.
    Calm returned as the suburbs began cleaning up Monday.
    Sydney has many beaches, but Cronulla is one of few that are easily accessible by train and often is visited by youngsters -- many of Middle Eastern ethnicity -- from the poorer suburbs of western and southern Sydney.
    Area residents accuse the visitors of traveling in gangs, being disrespectful and sometimes intimidating other beachgoers.
    Kuranda Seyit, director of a group called the Forum on Australia's Islamic Relations criticized all those involved in the rioting.
    "Australia is pluralist society, with many faiths and traditions all raveled into one," he said.
    "This is the unique success of this nation and we cannot let it fall into chaos and lawlessness," he added.
    "I realize that the initial behavior by the thugs who beat the lifeguard was unacceptable but to take it out on anyone who the mob think are not one of them, is not the solution."


Van: CNN, 12-12-2005, AP

Second night of violence in Sydney

Young people riding in vehicles smashed cars and store windows in suburban Sydney late Monday, a day after thousands of drunken white youths attacked people they believed were of Arab descent at a beach in the same area in one of Australia's worst outbursts of racial violence.

Sunday's attack -- apparently prompted by reports that Lebanese youths had assaulted two lifeguards -- sparked retaliation by young men of Arab descent in several Sydney suburbs, fighting with police and smashing 40 cars with sticks and bats, police said.
    Thirty-one people were injured and 16 were arrested in hours of violence.
    The rampage on Monday broke out in Cronulla, the same coastal suburb where the violence began, and in neighboring Carringbah, said Paul Bugden, spokesman for New South Wales police. Calm was restored by early Tuesday.
    Bugden said six people were arrested and one person apparently was hit by a rock in Monday's violence. He did not have descriptions of those involved in the rampage, but he said it "obviously stems from the last 24-48 hours."
    Australian Associated Press, citing a resident who declined to be named, said men riding in up to 50 cars and wielding baseball bats converged on Cronulla, smashing cars. Ambulances were called to help at least one injured man seen lying on the side of the road.
    Steven Dawson said a bottle thrown through his apartment window in the suburb of Brighton-Le-Sands showered his 5-month-old son Caleb with glass, but did not hurt the child.
    Horst Dreizner said a car had rammed into his denture store and he feared the violence would escalate. "Personally, I think it is only the beginning," he said in a telephone interview.
    Elsewhere, about 300 people of Arab descent demonstrated against Sunday's attack outside one of Sydney's largest mosques, amid tight security.
    The riots began Sunday after rumors circulated that youths of Lebanese descent were responsible for an attack last weekend on two lifeguards at Cronulla Beach. Police said the assault was not believed to be racially motivated.
    Police, meanwhile, formed a strike force to track down the instigators of the attack, some of whom were believed to be from white supremacist groups. Police said they were also seeking an Arab man who allegedly stabbed a white man in the back.
    Morris Iemma, the premier of New South Wales state, said police would use video images and photographs to track down the instigators. "Let's be very clear, the police will be unrelenting in their fight against these thugs and hooligans," he said.
    Prime Minister John Howard condemned the violence, but said he did not believe racism was widespread in Australia.
    "Attacking people on the basis of their race, their appearance, their ethnicity, is totally unacceptable and should be repudiated by all Australians irrespective of their own background and their politics," Howard said.
    But he added: "I'm not going to put a general tag (of) racism on the Australian community."
    Australia has long prided itself on accepting immigrants -- from Italians and Greeks after World War II to families fleeing political strife in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In the last census in 2001, nearly a quarter of Australia's 20 million people said they were born overseas.
    However, tensions between youths of Arabic descent and white Australians have been rising in recent years, largely because of anti-Muslim sentiment fueled by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States and deadly bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, in October 2002.
    About 300,000 Muslims live in Australia, the majority in large cities.
    "Arab Australians have had to cope with vilification, racism, abuse and fear of a racial backlash for a number of years, but these riots will take that fear to a new level," said Roland Jabbour, chairman of the Australian Arabic Council.
    Police had increased the number of officers patrolling the beach in the Sydney suburb on Sunday after cell phone text messages urged people to gather there to retaliate for the attack on the lifeguards.
    Police said more than 5,000 white youths, some wrapped in Australian flags and chanting racist slurs, fought with police, attacked people they believed to be of Arab descent and assaulted a pair of paramedics trying to help people escape the riot.
    Police fought back with batons and pepper spray.
    Many of the youths had been drinking heavily, police said. One white teenager had the words "We grew here, you flew here" painted on his back. Someone had written "100 percent Aussie pride" in the sand. TV broadcasts showed a group of young women attacking another woman, whose ethnicity was not clear.
    The violence shocked this city of 4 million that considers itself a cultural melting pot.
    "What we have seen yesterday is something I thought I would never see in Australia and perhaps we have not seen in Australia in any of our lifetimes and that is a mass call to violence based on race," Community Relations Commission chairman Stepan Kerkyasharian told Sky News.
    Cronulla Beach, which is easily accessible by train but is not a popular destination for foreign tourists, is often visited by youngsters from poorer suburbs, many of them of Arab descent. Residents accuse the youths of traveling in gangs and sometimes intimidating other beachgoers.
    Aborigines rioted in the Sydney neighborhood of Redfern in February 2004 after blaming police for the death of a 17-year-old boy. Forty police were wounded.


Van: CNN, 13-12-2005, AP

Riots spur new police powers

Australian lawmakers poised to pass new laws after racial unrest

Police in Sydney will be given tough new powers to crack down on rioters who have rampaged through the city's southern beachside suburbs for two nights, New South Wales state leader Morris Iemma announced Tuesday.

"New South Wales parliament will be recalled for a special emergency sitting on Thursday morning to provide police with extra powers to deal with criminals and thugs who are causing disturbances across our city," Iemma told reporters.
    He was talking after a second night of race riots left seven people injured and 11 in police custody as youths in a convoy of cars rampaged through streets smashing store windows and attacking parked cars.
    The men involved appeared to be of Middle Eastern origin, indicating that they were taking revenge for a riot Sunday during which a mob of 5,000 white men, many drunk and wrapped in Australian flags, attacked several people of Middle Eastern appearance near Cronulla beach.
    Sunday's fighting came in retaliation for the beating a week earlier of two volunteer life guards by men described as being of Lebanese descent.
    New South Wales Police Minister Carl Scully said rival groups needed to bring an end to the violence.
    "They feel slighted and insulted and believe they're entitled to respond to the provocation of those drunken yobbos on Sunday," Scully told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.
    "(But) they're not entitled to respond in a violent, criminal manner which is what they're doing and the police will continue to round them up while they do so."
    Iemma said he would urge lawmakers to pass legislation increasing prison sentences for riot offenses from five to 15 years and double the penalty for affray to 10 years.
    Opposition lawmakers already have called for tough new laws and are expected to support the legislation.
    "I won't allow Sydney's reputation as a tolerant, vibrant international city to be tarnished by these ratbags and criminals who want to engage in the sort of behavior we've seen in the last 48 hours," Iemma said. "They think they can get away with this, well they will not."
    Iemma said the rioters had "effectively declared war on our society and we won't be found wanting in our response."
    He said police also would be given new "lock down" powers to stop convoys from forming and driving into communities to carry out acts of retribution.
    Police meanwhile said they discovered weapons including petrol bombs and rocks on the roofs of some houses in the beachside suburb of Maroubra on Monday and arrested a five men armed with weapons including machetes and baseball bats. The men were not charged.
    And there appeared no end to the violence in sight with new telephone text messages circulating, one of which called for more fighting next weekend.
    "We'll show them! It's on again Sunday," one message said.
    Another warned of possible retaliation from the Middle Eastern groups.
    "The Aussies will feel the full force of the Arabs as one -'brothers in arms' unite now...," the message said.
    Before flying to a summit of Asian nations in Malaysia, Prime Minister John Howard said Tuesday the rioting would likely have no long-term impact on Australia's overseas reputation.
    "You have outbreaks of domestic discord that happens to every country and when it occurs there's publicity, but people make a judgment about this country over a longer term," he said.
    In a statement, police said five people were hospitalized in stable condition after being beaten Monday night.
    Five men were arrested and charged with offenses including assault, affray and dangerous driving.
    Television images of the violence shocked Australians who pride themselves on their tolerance and credit an influx of immigrants with helping build up the country in the post-World War II years.
    "This nation of ours has been able to absorb millions of people from different parts of the world over a period of now some forty years and we have done so with remarkable success and in a way that has brought enormous credit to this country," Howard said.
    Nearly a quarter of Australia's 20 million people were born overseas.
    However, tensions between youths of Arabic and Middle Eastern descent and white Australians have been rising in recent years, largely because of anti-Muslim sentiment fueled by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks in the United States and deadly bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians, in October 2002.
    About 300,000 Muslims live in Australia, the majority in lower income suburbs of large cities.
    A resident of the suburb of Brighton-Le-Sands, Steven Dawson, said a bottle thrown through his apartment window Monday night showered his 5-month-old son with glass, but did not hurt the child.
    "That bottle could have killed him," Dawson said.


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