(NSI News Source Info) SYDNEY - June 10, 2009: Hundreds of Indian students have taken part in violent protests in Sydney, after a spate of attacks on foreign students in Australia's major cities. 
A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest by Indian students in central Sydney June 7, 2009. The students demanded the government and police take action against people behind a series of violent attacks on Indian students. The attacks, which Indian media have called race-based, caused some diplomatic discomfort between the two countries and sparked angry protests in India. Australia's government condemned the attacks but said racism was not behind them.
More than 200 protesters carried hockey sticks and baseball bats during the demonstration which came amid growing racial tension that has threatened to damage relations between New Delhi and Canberra.
A police dog squad was called in to control the crowd in western Sydney on Tuesday night, after the protesters turned on three Lebanese men, in what was believed to be reprisals for previous attacks. The men sustained minor injuries.
Police said the protest was sparked by an incident in which an Indian man in his early 20s was attacked by a group of men "of Middle Eastern descent".
The recent series of attacks on Indian students has divided opinion in Australia.
Police superintendent Robert Redfern said the violence in the suburb of Harris Park was not race-related and stemmed from a series of "opportunistic" crimes against Indians in the area.
But a local councillor said police were naive if they believed the spate of attacks on Indians in Sydney's west had nothing to do with racism.
Michael McDermott, councillor for Harris Park and surrounding suburbs, said the protest was evidence of rising tension in the multi-ethnic area.
"There is an element of racial targeting and to not think that would be burying our heads in the sand a wee bit," Cllr McDermott told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"There's often an underlying tension between different ethnic groups but within Parramatta we've had a very, very good track record of working with those groups to celebrate it.
"It really saddens me that there's tensions there at present."
The unrest comes less than a month after a petrol bomb was thrown through the bedroom window of 25-year-old Indian hospitality graduate Rajesh Kumar in the area.
Indian-born residents make up the second largest population group in Harris Park, after Australian-born residents, 2006 census data show.
A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest by Indian students in central Sydney June 7, 2009. The students demanded the government and police take action against people behind a series of violent attacks on Indian students. The attacks, which Indian media have called race-based, caused some diplomatic discomfort between the two countries and sparked angry protests in India. Australia's government condemned the attacks but said racism was not behind them.
More than 200 protesters carried hockey sticks and baseball bats during the demonstration which came amid growing racial tension that has threatened to damage relations between New Delhi and Canberra.
A police dog squad was called in to control the crowd in western Sydney on Tuesday night, after the protesters turned on three Lebanese men, in what was believed to be reprisals for previous attacks. The men sustained minor injuries.
Police said the protest was sparked by an incident in which an Indian man in his early 20s was attacked by a group of men "of Middle Eastern descent".
The recent series of attacks on Indian students has divided opinion in Australia.
Police superintendent Robert Redfern said the violence in the suburb of Harris Park was not race-related and stemmed from a series of "opportunistic" crimes against Indians in the area.
But a local councillor said police were naive if they believed the spate of attacks on Indians in Sydney's west had nothing to do with racism.
Michael McDermott, councillor for Harris Park and surrounding suburbs, said the protest was evidence of rising tension in the multi-ethnic area.
"There is an element of racial targeting and to not think that would be burying our heads in the sand a wee bit," Cllr McDermott told the Sydney Morning Herald.
"There's often an underlying tension between different ethnic groups but within Parramatta we've had a very, very good track record of working with those groups to celebrate it.
"It really saddens me that there's tensions there at present."
The unrest comes less than a month after a petrol bomb was thrown through the bedroom window of 25-year-old Indian hospitality graduate Rajesh Kumar in the area.
Indian-born residents make up the second largest population group in Harris Park, after Australian-born residents, 2006 census data show. 
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