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Journalism of Courage
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Thursday said the attacks on Indians here were regrettable but should be seen in the context of broader incidences of violence as police warned that hysterical responses could lead to more hardcore racist intentions and violence.
Regrettably,there have been some incidents recently,lets accept that,but lets put it into context,and also in the context of,lets call it,the broader incidences of violence to students of other ethnic backgrounds,acts of violence against Australian students,acts of violence in particular parts of our large cities at any given time of the day, Rudd told reporters in Adelaide. I think its important to keep all this into its context, he said,adding obviously these are difficult matters in India,they are difficult matters in Australia.
His remarks came a day after External Affairs Minister S M Krishna asked Australia to put in more effective security measures to check the attacks on Indians,failing which he said the people-to-people exchanges which include those going for education and tourism would get adversely affected. Nearly 100 cases of attacks on Indians were reported in Australia in 2009.
The truth is this: the vast majority of Indian students in Australia are embraced entirely by the Australian community,get on with their business of studying hard,getting their qualifications and going off to do whatever they want to do with their lives, he said.
Meanwhile,conceding that there were some racist attacks on Indian students in Australia,Victorian Police Commissioner Simon Overland cautioned against hysterical responses. I fear that the hysterical commentary will only spawn more violence as attitudes polarise and harden,leading to more hard core racist intentions and violence, he said.
