Racial violence shocks Australian city (AP) Updated: 2005-12-12 15:02 The violence shocked this city of 4 million which prides
itself on being a cultural melting pot.
Australian Prime Minister Howard speaks during
a news conference in Sydney December 12, 2005. Howard called for ethnic
and religious tolerance after racial violence, spurred on police say by
white supremacists, erupted on a Sydney beach yesterday when a crowd
yelling racist chants said they were defending their beach after two
lifeguards were attacked last week. REUTERS/David Gray.
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"Our disgrace," said a front page headline in Sydney's Daily Telegraph. Below
was a picture of white youths attacking a man of Arab appearance on a train.
"Let's be very clear, the police will be unrelenting in their fight against
these thugs and hooligans," said Morris Iemma, the leader of New South Wales
state. He said the riots "showed the ugly side of racism in this country."
Kevin Schreiber, the mayor of the district where Cronulla is located, said he
was devastated by the rampage, but that he believed the rioters came "from far
and wide to participate."
Cronulla, one of the few beaches in Sydney that is easily accessible by
train, 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.
Bruce Baird, a government lawmaker, said anti-Muslim sentiment has risen in
Australia since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the 2002 bombings in Bali,
Indonesia, that killed 88 Australians. He noted that six women from Cronulla
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 Corp. radio.
Kuranda Seyit, director of the Forum of Australia's Islamic Relations,
described Australia as a "pluralist society, with many faiths and traditions all
raveled into one."
He added: "This is the unique success of this nation, and we cannot let it
fall into chaos and lawlessness."
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