Two more Indians attacked in Australia

I / Melbourne January 22, 2010, 11:59 IST

Despite assurances by Australian leadership, attacks on Indians continued with two more youths, including a cabbie, being brutally assaulted and robbed in separate overnight incidents in Brisbane.  

The latest attacks, the seventh on Indians within a fortnight, came a day after Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said these were "regrettable" but should be seen in the context of "broader incidences of violence".  

In the first incident, a 25-year-old youth was assaulted and robbed while using a phone box near his home in Macgregor in Brisbane's south last night, police said.  

The youth was punched in the head twice and his wallet stolen. Police, who have not disclosed his identity, described the attacker as being tall, of Pacific Islander appearance, with black curly hair.  

In a separate incident, a taxi driver was attacked early this morning after an argument broke out with two men in Carindale, in Brisbane's southeast.  

The men punched the driver on his face several times and smashed the car's windscreen. The driver was taken to the Princess Alexandra hospital for cuts on his face and swelling on his right eye.

Two men, aged 28 and 25, are helping police with their enquiries, local media reported.  

Meanwhile, the government again stressed that there was no indication that the attacks were racially motivated. Queensland's acting Premier Andrew Fraser said he wants to assure Indians that Australia is a safe place.

"This is a welcoming, tolerant society," Fraser said, adding there was no evidence that the two matters were linked.  

"Queensland and Australia remain a very safe place," he said.

"There's no doubt this has been an issue in the international arena. That's why we want to emphasise... That this is a welcoming, tolerant society.

"No one endorses any violence against any individual."

Prime Minister Rudd yesterday said,:"Regrettably, there have been some incidents recently, let's accept that, but let's put it into context, and also in the context of, let's 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."  

Nearly 100 cases of attacks on Indians were reported in Australia in 2009. Nitin Garg, a 21-year-old student who was stabbed to death here by unidentified assailants, was the first victim of such attacks this year.