Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09MELBOURNE65
2009-06-02 04:24:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Melbourne
Cable title:  

Indian Students Protest "Racist Attacks"

Tags:  PGOV PREL IN AS 
pdf how-to read a cable
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MELBOURNE 000065 

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL IN AS
SUBJECT: Indian Students Protest "Racist Attacks"

Summary
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MELBOURNE 000065

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL IN AS
SUBJECT: Indian Students Protest "Racist Attacks"

Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) Indian international students staged a large protest in
Melbourne on May 31-June 1 claiming that they are being
disproportionately targeted in a recent spike of robberies and
assaults in Victoria and that police are not doing enough to stop the
crimes. Police forcibly removed some protesters at the end of the
overnight sit-in and arrested one man for assault; there are claims
that police used excessive force. Victoria police admit that some
crimes have been racially motivated, but insist that many acts were
simply "opportunistic" in nature. Providing tertiary education to
foreign students is a US $12.4 billion industry in Australia and is
the country's third largest export. While overseas student numbers
have not yet fallen off, perceptions of Australia as a safe place to
send students are critically important to the business of education.
End Summary.

Overnight Sit-In
--------------


2. (U) Approximately 1,400 protesters gathered in Melbourne's central
business district on May 31 claiming that a recent spike in violence
against Indian students was motivated by racism. Protestors said that
Indians are overrepresented as victims of crime in Australia and that
police are not doing enough to stop the violence. Protesters carried
signs saying "hate racists, not Indians," "students not safe in
Australia," and "end racist violence." The protest concluded at
approximately 5:00 AM on June 1 after the participants decided to
stage an overnight sit-in. Police detained but later released 18
protesters for "breaching the peace," and arrested one man after he
allegedly threw missiles and broke several windows at the historic
Flinders Street train station. Victoria Police Chief Commissioner
Simon Overland denied that excessive force was used to disperse the
protesters despite claims that several of the participants were
punched or forcibly removed at the conclusion of the rally.


3. (U) The rally was organized by the Federation of Indian Students
of Australia. Gautam Gupta, a spokesman for the organization, publicly
stated that "we want a multicultural police section and we want crime
statistics made public so we know the extent of the problem." Gupta
went on to say that the government should run an advertisement
campaign highlighting the positive influence international students

and migrants have on Australian society. The march started at the
Royal Melbourne hospital where a 25-year old Indian student remains in
intensive care after being stabbed in the head with a screwdriver at a
party two weeks ago. In Parliament on June 1, Prime Minister Kevin
Rudd described these attacks as "senseless acts of violence," and said
that he had separately told Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on
May 29 that the more than 90,0000 Indian students are "welcome guests"
in Australia.

Police Response
--------------


4. (U) During a June 1 press briefing, Victoria Police Chief
Commissioner Simon Overland noted a trend of escalating robberies in
Melbourne and its suburbs against "soft targets." In 2007-2008, 1,447
people of Indian origin fell victim to crimes such as robberies and
assaults, an increase from 1,082 such crimes the previous year. This
was compared with 24,260 Caucasian victims and 36,765 victims overall.
He described these as opportunistic robberies of people walking alone
late at night with visible valuables such as laptops, ipods, or cell
phones. While Overland conceded that some of the attacks were
racially motivated, he believes that Indian students have been caught
up in a broader trend of increasing robberies and violence over the
past 18 months.


5. (SBU) Victoria Police have increased their presence in Melbourne's
western suburbs which are home to many Indian students and Overland
claimed that robberies are already falling in these neighborhoods.
Police contacts did not rule out racism as a motivation for at least
some of the attacks, but they noted that Indian students may be easier
targets of opportunity due to outside employment activities.
According to these contacts, many Indian students find employment
opportunities driving taxis or working in the service industry during
late hours. As many of these students use public transportation to
return home after work, they may be exposed to criminal activity more
than other groups.

Comment
--------------


6. (SBU) Growing concerns over student safety may take a toll on
Australia's important education sector. International education is
now Australia's third largest export industry behind coal and iron
ore. In 2008, the industry was valued at US $12.4 billion. In

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Victoria, education "exports" are now the state's largest export
industry, well ahead of the tourism and automotive sectors. There
were over 159,000 international students enrolled in Victoria in 2008.
Although we have not yet seen signs of this important sector falling
off, perceptions of Australia as a safe place to send students to
study abroad are critically important to the "business of education"
here.

THURSTON