The spate of racial attacks against Indians spread to Sydney after members of the community were targeted in Melbourne.
Indian students alleged on Thursday that Lebanese youths were behind the racially-motivated attacks on them here as they took to the streets for the third consecutive night protesting against racial attacks.
The spate of racial attacks against Indians spread to Sydney after members of the community were targeted in Melbourne.
Scores of Indian students last night took to the streets of Harris Park in Sydney for the third consecutive night to protest racially-motivated against them by Lebanese youths.
The protesters alleged that police were ignoring their pleas for protection.
The protests came a day after prime minister Kevin Rudd warned Indian students against "vigilante action" to prevent attacks against them.
Indian protesters continue to say that they were being attacked by Lebanese youths. A man, who took part in the protest, was issued with a court notice for carrying an offensive weapon after being allegedly found with a piece of timber during a police search.
Meanwhile, Parramatta city council held a meeting with police, India's Consul General and members of Sydney's Indian community, with organisers saying students had agreed to stop protest rallies.
Prime minister Kevin Rudd warned Indian students on Wednesday against "vigilante action", saying while violence in all Australian cities was "a regrettable part" of urban life, vigilante action was equally unwelcome.
Superintendent Robert Redfern expressed sympathy for the students' concerns, but urged them not to take matters into their own hands.
"I am not a fan of vigilante groups. I am not a fan of people taking the law into their own hands. That's our job," Redfern said.
"The victims of crime that do occur in this area are not exclusively Indian, the perpetrators of those crimes are not exclusively Middle Eastern," he said.
Redfern said he planned to meet with Sydney's Indian community leaders later this week.
NSW premier Nathan Rees said a meeting with Indian leaders last week emphasised the need for everyone to keep a cool head and report any incidents to police immediately.
"Police have escalated their presence and their monitoring of the situation in that part of Sydney, but everyone is to keep calm," he said on Wednesday.
"There is no place for violence, there is no place for this sort of antisocial behaviour in NSW or Australia."
"What I would say is there are mechanisms in place now for appropriate dialogue to occur," he said, adding "we'll be in ongoing discussions with the student leaders and community leaders."
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