Patience wearing thin I

s the Australian police or legal system inept or racist in itself is a question which is increasingly gaining momentum in India and amongst the Indian community here. Yet another assault on Indians, this time blatantly racist, took place recently in Melbourne, in front of at least fifteen witnesses. The Victoria Police’s inability to do anything about it has taken the Indian community here by surprise.

Four people, who allegedly assaulted four Indian men quietly enjoying a game of pool, were interviewed by police. They have been released, pending further investigation.

Victoria Police has admitted in their press release, that police on the scene had observed fifteen males and females make racist remarks. Yet nothing was done about these fifteen individuals.

That the Victorian police could not and did not take action against the group inciting racial hatred, is to be condemned. That it took four days after the incident for Victorian police to actually make any statement at all, is deplorable.

By PAWAN LUTHRA

It is interesting to note that the police actually went public with details only when the media in India took the assault to their front pages - a full four days after the incident! Prime time news Times Now network featured a 30-minute program on attacks on Indians in Australia, NDTV led the story with a headline of Unsafe Down Under; Times of India and Hindustan Times too ran headlines of Indians in Australia living in fear. Only after these reports were aired, did the Victorian police go public about the incident. Their comments that these “types of incidents occur regularly” is indeed a shameful display of either their inability to understand the gravity of the situation, or their ineptitude in handling cases of a racist nature.

Victorian Premier John Brumby will be in India when this issue of Indian Link hits the stands, assuring all that Australia is a safe country. In all probability, his words will be a repetition of Julia Gillard’s - who on her maiden visit to India last month repeatedly stressed the same. As did Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, and before him, Trade Minister Simon Crean. Sure, it is a safe country, but tell that to the families of the victims who lie in hospital. Safety will only be accepted if these attacks cease and perpetuators of these crimes are dealt with in the strictest possible manner by the police and the legal system. Government spokespersons have said repeatedly they have “zero tolerance” towards those who incite racial violence, but does this attitude reflect in action?

It is also about time politicians and law enforcement officers understand the gravity of the situation.

Witnessing a blatant racially motivated attack on four innocent bystanders led on by a baying crowd, without taking action, is truly pathetic. What else did the Victoria Police need to jolt them into action –white-clad, cone-shaped masks and burning crosses? Or skinheads and swastika tattoos?