AUSTRALIA: SMS calls for race riots out in four states

Messages circulate in Australia as Sydney prepares for more fighting

Straits Times
Thursday, December 15, 2005

Sydney --- Cellphone text messages calling for racial violence in four Australian states circulated yesterday as another major overnight security operation began in Sydney to maintain peace in beachside suburbs.

More than 450 police officers took to the streets in Australia's largest city for a second night, erecting roadblocks to check drivers moving into areas of previous unrest such as Cronulla Beach in the south.

Sydney's racial violence erupted at Cronulla last Sunday when a mob of about 5,000, some yelling racist chants, attacked people of Middle Eastern appearance. They said they were defending their beach from Lebanese youth gangs.

Police said white supremacists incited violence at Cronulla.

Lebanese and Muslim youths retaliated with two nights of violence in several different beachside suburbs.

The burning to the ground of a church hall on Tuesday night, smashing of church windows and shots fired at a Catholic school fuelled fears of escalating violence and prompted the authorities yesterday to say they would focus on places of worship to ensure the locations were protected.

"Special attention will be paid to places of worship, our churches and our schools," New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma said at a news conference.

"Obviously, we have to be on guard for this, and these hooligans and criminals will not destroy the fabric of our society."

The NSW state Parliament will hold an emergency sitting today to pass legislation giving police extra power to "lockdown" suburbs and areas of unrest in Sydney and to ban alcohol in certain areas.

Penalties will also be increased, with jail terms of up to 15 years.

Police said they were investigating cellphone text messages inciting racial violence in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia.

Some messages called for racial violence on Sunday, the one-week anniversary of the unrest.

SMS had been used to incite mob violence in Cronulla last weekend.

There were reports on Tuesday of isolated race -- related incidents elsewhere in the country.

One Middle Eastern family in Perth said they were harassed by a group of Caucasian men, while a Lebanese Australian taxi driver was assaulted in Adelaide.

In a counter campaign, Lebanese and surfer gangs held "peace talks" at Maroubra Beach in Sydney yesterday and agreed to start a text message campaign calling for calm.

"There are certain individuals, and they will be weeded out, they will be outcasts,' Mr Tony Nasr from the Lebanese Christian Community said after the meeting.

Surfer Nathan Rogers, from Maroubra's notorious "Bra Boys" gang, said: "The beaches are not anyone's turf, they should be open to everyone, no matter what ethnic background."

Similar "peace talks" between Muslim leaders and surfers were held at Cronulla Beach last night.

Muslim women's groups urged a voluntary curfew on Arabic youths, calling for parents to keep their children home tomorrow, Saturday night and all day on Sunday.

The women urged parents to confiscate mobile telephones and car keys this weekend, when the police will stage a major security operation to prevent a repeat of last weekend's violence.

"I urge community leaders to continue dialogue in an effort to defuse the aggression," said Assistant Police Commissioner Mark Goodwin.

But NSW Police Minister Carl Scully said police were preparing for more unrest this weekend.

"We expect further problems. We had more than 400 cops last night. Expect hundreds on top of that on Saturday and Sunday," he said.

Date Posted: 12/15/2005