Posted on 12/11/2005 10:03:30 PM PST by ScaniaBoy
After weeks of tension, attack on two lifeguards by Lebanese youths triggers race riot
TENSIONS between young white gangs and youths of mainly Middle Eastern origin erupted on one of Australia’s most popular beaches yesterday in what police condemned as a racially motivated rally driven by a mob mentality.
Thousands of people, many chanting racial slurs, were engaged in running battles on Cronulla Beach in Sydney’s southern suburbs.
At least 13 people were hurt, including five police, and 12 were arrested during the clashes, which followed a week of mounting anger over an attack on two lifeguards who were beaten up by a gang of Lebanese youths.
Furious locals, many wielding empty beer bottles and waving Australian flags, shouted anti-Middle Eastern slogans as they marched across the sand, on which was written “100 per cent Aussie pride”.
One white teenager had the words “We grew up here, you flew here” painted across his back. As the crowd moved along the beach and foreshore, one man on the back of a truck shouted: “No more Lebs [Lebanese]”, a chant picked up by the group around him. Others carried Australian flags and dressed in Australian sports shirts.
Up to 150 police officers were drafted in to cope with the 5,000-strong crowd, many of whom roamed the beach and side streets in vigilante fashion.
Two girls of Middle Eastern appearance were pushed to the ground and pelted with bottles as police tried to rescue them.
By mid-afternoon word spread that a Lebanese gang was arriving at the nearby railway station. Some members of the mob jumped on a train where they looked for anybody of vaguely Middle Eastern appearance. They found two men whom they began to beat before police intervened with batons and formed a human chain around the station.
In a separate incident, two paramedics were injured as they tried to rescue a group of Lebanese youths who had sought sanctuary in the Cronulla Surf Lifesaving club.
The mob smashed windows and kicked at doors, while others stomped on police vehicles and parked cars. Officers fought back with pepper spray and batons, bringing a semblance of calm to the area by late afternoon.
Last night, violence flared in at least six Sydney suburbs in retaliation for the Cronulla clashes. In nearby Brighton-le-Sands, an Australian flag was reported to have been taken off a building and burnt.
The violent clashes followed weeks of rising racial tension in the beachside suburb, which is popular with thousands of Middle Eastern families from Sydney’s mainly ethnic outer areas at the weekend. Locals have accused some of them, particularly visiting Lebanese youths, of being disrespectful to white women and other beachgoers.
Following the attacks on the volunteer lifeguards, a mobile telephone text campaign started, backed up by frenzied discussions on weblogs, calling on Cronulla locals to rally to protect their beach.
In response, a text campaign urged youths from western Sydney to be at Cronulla on Sunday to protect their friends. All week police and politicians had been calling for calm.
Yesterday, Islamic leaders blamed the trouble on influential talk radio hosts who had whipped up racial tensions in the wake of last weekend’s attack on the lifesavers, who epitomise Australia’s white traditions and Anglo-Saxon roots.
Keysar Trad, president of the Islamic Friendship Association, accused the media of incitement.
Ken Moroney, the New South Wales police commissioner, pledged to target people who raised the ethnic tensions that ignited the violence.
Mark Goodwin, the assistant police commissioner, branded the riots as “disgusting and disgraceful”. “It’s certainly not the Australian way,” he said.
Kevin Schreiber, the Cronulla Mayor, said many who flocked to the beach were looking for a fight. “I’m devastated by what has happened on our beachfront. It is the actions of a few, but let’s not kid ourselves that people didn’t come from far and wide to participate.”
VIOLENCE SPLITS THE BLOGGERS
‘I find it offensive when “humans” come to our country and try and f*** up our way of life’
‘What happened to those lifeguards sucks . . . but instead of more violence and hate let’s work out a way to stop it peacefully!!!'
‘They are trying to change our way of life. Do you not understand the concept behind it? They hate the way we live’
‘The best way to respond to this violence is with love. We should as surfers spread our love into their community. One way to do this is to date their sisters’
Extracts from Realsurf.com forum
‘The best way to respond to this violence is with love. We should as surfers spread our love into their community. One way to do this is to date their sisters’
Pure Aussie cheek - got to love'em. (I'm not sure the author of the article understood that comment.)
Already posted!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1538455/posts
"The best way to respond to this violence is with love. We should as surfers spread our love into their community. One way to do this is to date their sisters"
LOL ! Either this person is very stupid, or has a great sense of humor. ( I guess them being a surfer makes it easy to answer ).
D-mn!
I only searched on keywords and came up with some articles that didn't mention the attacks on the life guards. I was sloppy - early Monday morning.
Mods - please lock.
One of the wittiest comments I've seen in a long time.
Two girls of Middle Eastern appearance were pushed to the ground and pelted with bottles as police tried to rescue them.
This, however, is going entirely too far.
I find that hard to believe.
Gordongekko909: I agree
ozoneliar: Not the MSM. Just as leftwing in Aussieland as in Europe and the US - no it was those dastardly Talk Radio shows and the evil Bloggers!! /sarcasm
So the whites are "gang members" and the muzzies are "youths". What a steaming load!
Ozzie, Ozzie, Ozzie!
There is no ban on private gun ownership. Handguns take a bit of work to own, as do other weapons considered to be more powerful than an average person needs, but it's easy to get a licence to own something like a rifle.
They brought it on themselves by terrorizing those lifeguards. They thought they would intimidate people on the beach, but they were dead wrong.
The Islamic Friendship Association? Thats like referring to the KKK as the community welcome wagon for Blacks and Jews.
Wonderful idea. I wonder if the idiot adherent of this notion thinks the best way to stop a rapist is to lie back and enjoy it.
That's the Leftist media for ya. Only the Mooselimbs are blameless when violence occurs.
Huh? Well which is it. Five thousand people showing up from all over the area doesn't sound like a "white gang" to me and it's certainly not the "actions of a few". Expect to see more of this as the muzzies increase their numbers.
This goes back alot further than lebanese gangs messing with people on the beach. There have been periodic gang rapes going on north of Sidney, and plenty of other violence and antagonizing by these jihadists. Their Clerics are constantly trying to force there ways onto them, and have their freedoms restricted. This lifeguard incident was just the last straw.
Bump
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