Attacks on students ‘clearly racist’: Victoria police chief

September 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - John Brumby, the premier of Australian state of Victoria, Friday proposed to give separate transportation and safe housing for Indian students studying in Australia. Union Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi, after a meeting with a nine-member delegation led by Brumby, said: "It is a proposal by the Australian government.

September 16th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The string of racist attacks against Indians has damaged Australia's image, Victoria province's Premier John Brumby admitted Wednesday, adding "some of the events of the past few months have damaged our brand and the Australian brand in India". The latest assault took place Saturday when four Indian men were brutally assaulted outside a bar in Epping, a suburb of this Victoria capital.

September 16th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Victorian Premier John Brumby said on Wednesday that the spate of racist attacks had damaged Victoria and Australia's image in India. "Some of the events of the past few months have damaged our brand and the Australian brand in India and I can only repeat that overall we remain one of the safest places in the world," The Age quoted Brumby, as saying.

August 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Australian government would ensure that student victims of racist attacks either get a seat in a different college or are refunded the entire college fee, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said here Monday. Gillard, who is on a five-day visit to India, was interacting with students of the Lady Shri Ram College.

August 30th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The racist violence targeting Indian students in Australia is going to have a big impact on its economy, with enrolment of Indians at Victoria's universities expected to plunge by up to 50 per cent in 2010. The shortfall, comprising existing students who plan to abandon their courses here and hundreds more who intended to enroll, but are now seeking positions at universities in other countries, will cost the Victorian economy tens of millions of dollars.

August 14th, 2009 VICTORIA - After a spate of racist attacks on Indians in Australia, Africans seem to be the next target. Leaflets were recovered from various parts in Victoria, warning residents of an influx of Africans moving to live in their city.

June 9th, 2009 SYDNEY - The police chief of Australia's Victoria state Tuesday admitted that some of the attacks on Indian students in this country are "racially motivated" - as maintained by the victims of a series of crimes. The southeastern state' Chief Commissioner of Police Simon Overland told the media in Victoria's capital Melbourne that some of the robbery attacks are "racially motivated" and others are "opportunistic".

June 9th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The police chief of Australia's Victoria state on Tuesday admitted that some of the attacks on Indian students across the country were racially motivated, as claimed by most of the Indian victims. Victoria's chief commissioner of police Simon Overland said that some of the robbery attacks were racially motivated and others are were opportunistic.

June 6th, 2009 MELBOURNE - An organisation representing Indian students in Australia said Saturday it was "quite disturbed" over how some "anti-Indian Indians" here were holding the students responsible for the spate of alleged racist attacks on the student community. The Federation of Indian Students of Australia (FISA) has also lashed out at some of the Indian diaspora for supporting the administration and police's "inaction" over the attacks due to its own "selfish interest".

June 2nd, 2009 MELBOURNE - Indian students have lost confidence in Victorian Police force that racially profiles them. Federation of Indian Students of Australia (FISA) adviser Gautam Gupta said a series of comments from Victoria Police had prompted Sunday night's protest that was marked by violence and 18 arrests.

June 1st, 2009 MELBOURNE - Indian protesters, who were demonstrating against the recent racist attacks on Indian students, were ramrodded by security personnel during the overnight blockade of Melbourne's city streets. Protesters accused the Victoria Police of using force against them to break up their peaceful sit-in.

May 29th, 2009 MELBOURNE - "Our students feel that the attacks on some of them have been motivated racially," High Commissioner of India Sujatha Singh has said, though premier of Australia's Victoria state John Brumby Friday said violence against the Indian community is "completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated". Sujatha Singh told reporters: "I do not think that Australia is a racist society.

May 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI/MELBOURNE - The Indian external affairs ministry Friday called Australian High Commissioner John McCarthy and conveyed its concerns over the allegedly racist attacks on Indian students in Melbourne, the second largest city of Australia. N. Ravi, secretary (east) in the ministry, met the Australian envoy and sought assurance about the safety of Indian students in Australia.

May 29th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The Australian Police has denied that a series of attacks on Indian students was racially motivated. The majority of crimes against Indians in Melbourne are opportunistic, not racially motivated, says Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Keiran Walshe.

May 28th, 2009 MELBOURNE - In the wake of the attacks on Indian students in the country, an Australian police officer is to travel to India to brief prospective students on avoiding street violence in Australia, media reports said. Police community liaison officer Senior Constable Victor Robb said that his advice would mainly cover "safety strategy tips", Radio Australia reported Thursday.