Krishna says decrease in incidents of violence against Indians in Australia

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today said the number of incidents of violence against Indians recorded in Melbourne, Australia had decreased as a result of various measures taken by the Australian federal government as well as the state government in Victoria.

In a suo motu statement in Parliament, Mr Krishna said that, in Australia, a Task Force headed by the Australian National Security Adviser had been set up in teh office of the Australian Prime Minister to formulate a "whole of government" approach to the issue and liaise with state governments on the action being taken by them.

He said that in Melbourne as well as in Sydney, where many of the attacks in the past two years took place, the police had increased patrolling where incidents had occurred.

He said that, in Melbourne, police presence was stepped up especially around train stations and high crime neighbourhoods; the number of transit police, including in plain clothes on late night trains taken by students, was increased; the Victoria State Government’s Robbery Taskforce was doubled; several offenders were charged.

Mr Krishna said that a Community Reference Group for Western Melbourne involving the police and members of the Indian community to facilitate communication on safety issues was established. A hotline was set up for Indian students. Free legal advice and referral for international students was made available at Melbourne. More street lighting and CCTV cameras have been provided in areas that are prone to such attacks.

He said that off the various reports and reviews commissioned by the Australian government to look into the several problems being faced by the students, two have submitted their reports, and made specific recommendations to improve conditions for international students.

The Minister said there had been eight Ministerial visits from Australia to India in 2009, many of which were focused on addressing India's growing concerns about the safety and well-being of Indian students.

He said the Australian federal and state government authorities had taken action in providing relief to Indian students affected due to the sudden closure of certain colleges, in making them aware of their rights and relocating them in other colleges.

Following some attacks on Indian taxi drivers last year, the South Australia government had set up a taxi council to hold regular discussions with taxi drivers, many of whom are students.

He said the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) had introduced measures to strengthen checks on student visa applications to stamp out fraud and ensure that students had the financial capacity to live and study in Australia. DIAC has recently announced an overhaul of the general skilled migration rules leading to permanent residency in Australia.

He said the Victorian Government strengthened the Victorian Sentencing Act 1991 in December 2009, and was conducting a review of the justice system under a retired Supreme Court judge to address racial crime.

Mr Krishna said 300 police officers were being added to the Victorian Police to form a rapid response unit to address continued attacks. Other concrete measures taken by the Victorian government include the setting up of an International Student Care Service. The service has 24/7 hotline staffed by trained persons, some of whom also speak Hindi. The Centre provides psychological counselling, legal assistance, assistance with any problem with educational institute, employer or landlord or any other authority. It also provides financial assistance to students for temporary accommodation as well as assistance to take care of medical expenses and so on.

He said the issue continued to be taken up very strongly with the Australian Government. He said he had spoken to Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on January 11 and expressed his serious concern.

Mr Krishna said he had also met Mr Smith in London on the margins of the Conference on Afghanistan on January 27 and conveyed that the attacks on Indians were particularly worrisome as the individuals from the Indian community appeared to have been singled out and it was increasingly difficult to accept the attacks as mere opportunistic crimes.

He said the Australian Government had recently set up a high-level Working Group under the overall charge of Foreign Minister Smith to deal with this issue on an urgent basis.

While pointing out that India attached importance to its relationship with Australia and was committed to further strengthening and expanding the ties to cover all areas of interaction, it took the incidents of assault on Indian students very seriously.

"I would like to assure you that the Australian authorities have been fully apprised of the gravity of the situation. As a result, both at the state as well as the federal level, they have taken several measures as outlined above, to improve security and surveillance; it can be honestly said that they are making efforts to meet our concerns. However, as can be seen, the issue consists of several complex factors, all of which are interlinked and need to be dealt with in a concerted and coordinated manner," he said.

He assured Parliament that the Government would continue to monitor the situation closely and work closely with the Australian authorities to deal with the issues concerned and improve the safety and security of Indian students in Australia.

At the outset, Mr Krishna gave details of the attacks on the Indian students that had been coming to the notice of the Government since 2007 when some Indians were attacked in Sydney. In 2008 and 2009 also, there were other sporadic incidents.

However, since May 2009 there had been a significant increase in the number and frequency of the attacks, which also coincided with the substantial increase in the number of Indian students studying in Australia over the last three years. He said this number had gone up by 141 per cent in just two years from 2006 to 2008.

Lising the various incidents since May 2009, he mentioned the fact that one student, Nitin Garg, was killed in one such attack on January 2 in a Melbourne suburb. While there were cases of assaults on Indian students and taxi drivers in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, most of the incidents seemed to have been occurring in and around Melbourne, he said.

Mr Krishna also gave a detailed account of how the Government had taken up each of these cases with the Australian authorities, right up to the highest level between Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Kevin Rudd.

According to him, the incidents relating to Indian students and nationals in Australia have involved one or more of the following elements: robbery, assault, violence fuelled by alcohol/drugs, juvenile crime and racial abuse.

Other contributing factors have been: the financial constraints of the Indian students which have led to them living in poor neighbourhoods, working late hours and travelling in late night public transport, all of which have made them more vulnerable to street crime which has been on the increase in Melbourne, where most of the incidents have taken place, he said.

The profile of the attackers in most of these assaults is of youngsters in their teens and early 20s, largely under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The attackers are of mixed ethnicity, including sometimes, other Indians. Some of the attacks have had racial elements, he said.

He said that, besides the obvious law and order problem, the other issues which have come to the fore include the commercialisation of the Australian international education industry and laxity in monitoring/enforcing compliance of the regulations by the Australian authorities. The increase in number of students in Vocational Education & Training (VET) sector was linked to the immigration system of Australia which gave priority in the last few years to applicants for permanent residency (PR) in certain skills where there are significant shortages. These immigration rules are now in the process of undergoing changes, he said.

He also mentioned the guidelines that his Ministry had unveiled for Indian students studying in and wishing to study in Australia.

He said the Indian High Commission in Australia and the Consulates General in Melbourne and Sydney each have a Community Welfare and Student Liaison Officer (CWSLO) who is on call 24/7, and whose mobile number is on the missions' websites as emergency response numbers.

"Any problem involving an Indian student or member of the community is handled by the CWSLO in coordination with the High Commissioner/Consuls General," he added.

NNN