What's that happening in Australia?
 

Australia witnesses more race violence
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=15229

Attacks on Sydney churches fuel fears of more race riots between whites and ethnic Arabs in Australia.


By Lawrence Bartlett - SYDNEY

A suspicious fire and smashed windows at Sydney churches, and shots fired during a Christmas carol service, fuelled fears Wednesday of escalating violence between whites and ethnic Arabs in Australia.


Christian and Muslim religious leaders urged calm and unity in the face of the attacks, while New South Wales state Premier Morris Iemma said police would now closely monitor places of worship.


"Special attention will be paid to places of worship, our churches and our schools," he told reporters.


"Obviously we have to be on guard for this, and these hooligans and criminals will not destroy the fabric of our society."


Dozens of people have been arrested and injured since Sunday in the worst racially-motivated unrest in Australia for decades, prompting authorities to deploy hundreds of extra police to troubled suburbs.


Four men were seen near the Uniting Church hall, which is next to an Islamic centre in the multicultural suburb of Auburn, before the fire broke out in the early hours of Wednesday.


"I've been in contact with the police this morning and the police are treating it as suspicious," Iemma said.


The nearby St Thomas' Anglican Church had a dozen windows smashed about the same time, while the St Albans Anglican church in Macquarie Fields suburb was vandalised Tuesday, local media reported.


Also in Auburn, a Christmas carol service at a Catholic primary school was disrupted on Monday evening when men of Middle Eastern descent fired shots into parked cars and verbally abused parents and children.


No one was hurt in the incident, which was condemned by Sydney's Catholic Archbishop Cardinal George Pell as "apparently motivated by religious intolerance".


Pell appealed for calm and tolerance between Sydney's Christian and Muslim communities.


"This violence is unacceptable, as unacceptable as the violence perpetrated by Anglo elements on Sunday at Cronulla," Pell said, referring to attacks by white mobs on people of Middle Eastern appearance in the beachside suburb.


"All Australians - those of no religion, other religions, Christian or Muslim -- have a right to be left alone to go about their business in peace, to enjoy the holiday season peacefully, to worship peacefully."


Sydney Anglican Archbishop Peter Jenson also condemned the violence.


"All citizens must pledge themselves to supporting appropriate measures from government and community leaders," Jenson said.


"Faith leaders will have much to do in their communities to assist."


Australian Federation of Islamic Councils chief executive Amjad Ali Mehboob said worshippers at Omar Mosque in Auburn would this week hold a solidarity meeting at the Uniting Church after Friday prayers.


Meanwhile, members of the Muslim community and surfers from the troubled suburbs met Wednesday in "a mission of peace" organised by police.


Riots first erupted Sunday when more than 5,000 people gathered at Cronulla beach after e-mail and mobile phone messages called on local residents to "reclaim the beach" from "Lebs and wogs" - racial slurs for people of Lebanese and Middle Eastern origin.


Iemma has recalled the state parliament from its Christmas break for an emergency meeting Thursday at which it is expected to pass new laws that would grant police greater powers and allow for stiffer jail terms.


New South Wales Police Minister Carl Scully said more unrest was expected and hundreds of extra police would be on duty at the weekend as text messages encouraging violence continued to circulate.


Police have reported that similar text messages have now turned up in several other states.
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WTF? Anyone from Oz that could give us some insight?


Ponrauil

Locals are sick of ethnic gangs (mainly Lebanese) hanging around Cronulla beach and harassing people with violence and it's even to the point where girls are claiming that they have been threatened with rape etc. It's been going on for a while now, though in the last 12 months only one arrest has ever been made for this type of behaviour. Then last week two lifesavers were bashed by one of these groups, an act that many locals decided was the last straw.

What happened next was stupid and irresponsible. Reports say that between 2000-5000 people gathered for a protest against this, though the protest itself got out of hand. A mixture of frustration, drunkeness and yes, there would be racism in certain cases, led to something of a riot in the surrounding area of Cronulla beach. The 'stupid and irresponsible' part that I speak of is that cars were smashed up, as were shop windows, and a number of people of Middle Eastern descent were chased down the streets by groups of angry youths.

HOWEVER, don't believe the media portraying this as just an explosion of racism over the one bashing incident. That is crap. Like I said, these groups have been doing this type of thing for a couple of years, yet nothing has been done to stop it. So when a guy, doing his job to save other beach-goers in need, gets bashed by a dozen others, I can at least understand the initial feeling of anger and frustration felt by many who got involved in these riots.

I am not saying that I condone the rioting, that was ridiculous. Fair enough, if they wanted to catch the actual people responsible, but having a go at anyone that looks Middle Eastern is a joke and that behaviour should be punished. One of my best friends is of Lebanese descent and if he had been in the area at the time, he most likely would have been attacked. Yet this guy is 100% Australian, born, bred and extremely passionate about his country. He's probably more Australian than most of those rioters, if you think in terms of patriotism.

But if I saw someone urinating and burning the Australian flag, I'd get pretty pissed off too. And that did happen.

Basically, it was catalysed by a Lebanese gang assaulting some volunteer lifesavers, and so it sparked huge riots. IMO though, they're not race riots at all. I think it's just a gang war that's gotten blown way out of proportion, and the media has played a huge role in escalating the entire situation.

I'm in Sydney, and I can tell you there are cops absolutely everywhere - on the streets, at the beaches, and even in local shopping centres. Beaches have been virtually closed this weekend, and it's impacting on the local community - I live relatively close to the beaches, and I've been told pretty much to not wander around near the beaches or the junctions at all, because of threats of more violence. Still, leaders of major surfie gangs and Lebanese Muslim leaders have appeared on tv trying to publicly make peace...which indicates even more to me that its just a major gang war.

Still, at the end of this, I just have to stress that Australia is not racist - the media just portrays it this way to make a big deal out of it. Certain journalists and radio stations have also managed to worsen the situation, and inadvertantly (or so they say) sparking more riots. Uncool.