Attacks on Indians not racist, say Australian officials

The high-level Australian delegation that is in India to allay fears about Indian students being singled out for racist attacks in their country, assured worried parents in Ahmedabad on Tuesday that the attacks were not racist in nature.

Delegation members said the Australian government was against all kinds of violence, including racist violence. Colin Walters, group manager of International Group, Australian Department of Education, who is heading the delegation, said that the Australian government was very serious about the security of foreign students.

“Students from more than 190 countries come to Australia for higher studies,” Walters said. “Some foreign students, who happened to be carrying expensive electronic gadgets such iPods and laptops, have been attacked by native teenagers. But this is a problem in most big cities of the world such as London and Chicago where such crimes are common.”

Walters added that it would help if foreign students, including those from India, were briefed before they left their home countries on how to keep themselves safe in Australia.

Paul Evans, assistant commissioner of police, city of Victoria, said attacks on Indian students had been carried out mainly by 15-17 year old teenagers, many of whom were drug addicts.