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| <h1>FUCK MUSLIMS</h1> | |||
| {{current}} | |||
| On ], ], a series of violent ''']''' occurred in several suburbs of the ]n city of ]. The violence was first reported in ] and later spread to other suburbs of Sydney. The race riots flared again on the night of ]. | |||
| ==Events== | |||
| ===December 11 Daytime=== | |||
| ]Prior to the outbreak of violence, a crowd of at least 5,000 people reportedly gathered at Cronulla beach{{ref|smh1}}. Elements in the local community had called for the gathering in response to the assault upon two ] the previous weekend, which had been attributed to a Lebanese gang.{{ref|abc1}} According to ], the initially festive atmosphere rapidly became violent: | |||
| <blockquote>"Earlier in the day the atmosphere had been party-like despite the large crowd, which some estimates say numbers 5,000 people. That changed when a man of Middle Eastern appearance was chased into a hotel bistro. Within a minute the hotel was surrounded by several thousand people screaming and chanting. About a half an hour later a fight broke out across the road and police led away a man with a shirt over his head as the crowd lobbed beer cans at him". {{ref|abc2}}</blockquote> | |||
| Many rioters wore clothing with slogans such as "] Free Zone", "Aussie Pride", "] Unit", and "I Love Pork". Chants of "Lebs out", "Lebs go home" and other expressions of racial vilification were continuously shouted by many of the rioters, including young families with children. Through the course of the day, several individuals of ] appearance were assaulted, and assaults on police and ambulance workers were also reported. Groups of young men threw beer bottles at police and attacked police vehicles. {{ref|smh1}}{{ref|abc1}} | |||
| Several dozen people were treated for minor cuts and bruises, while six individuals were evacuated under police escort to be assessed by doctors. One was further evacuated to St. George hospital, in serious but stable condition. {{ref|smh1}}{{ref|abc2}} | |||
| ===December 11 Evening=== | |||
| By evening, unrest had spread to the ] beach and the suburb of ], where cars and windows were vandalised. {{ref|abc3}} Several instances of property damage at the ] were reported. It appears that this violence occurred in reaction to the violence against people of Middle Eastern apperance in Cronulla, and was perpetrated by people of Middle-Eastern origin against what were perceived as white areas. | |||
| By 1AM on ], violence had also spread to ], where police wearing riot gear sectioned off Bay Street in a confrontation with a crowd. {{ref|abc4}} | |||
| In ], a twenty three year old man was stabbed outside a golf club. Local police told ] that they are searching for a group of men who are "Middle Eastern in appearance". {{ref|abc4}} | |||
| The '']'' reported unspecified unrest in ]. {{ref|abc5}} | |||
| ===December 12: Further Retaliation=== | |||
| Various news sources reported a large on Monday night, which had started to disperse at 9:30pm . Residents claimed they were there to defend the Mosque against attacks from southern gangs. | |||
| Reports from <!--audio file, needs to be converted to footnote--> and reported further violence on the night of ], with residents of Cronulla claiming fifty cars of men of Middle-Eastern appearance had driven into the area. The local shopping centre appeared to be a target of mobs, with several vehicles vandalised. Middle easterns went on a "rampage" while nearby residents prepeared for "battle". Several middle eastern-groups have assualted residents with one incident where a young woman was sexually assaulted and told | |||
| "We are going to rape you, you Aussie sluts.". One email in response claimed "This is only the beginning, this is a start of the war! Leb's n wog's won't stand for this and will start singling out the aussies and gang bashing them with drawn weapons. We must continue to come together to help the innocent and family's so everyone can enjoy our beach's!" | |||
| ==Timeline== | |||
| A timeline of important events of leading up to and following the race riots is as follows: | |||
| * On Sunday ] ], a group of male youths playing soccer on Cronulla beach, and described as being of Middle Eastern appearance were asked by the North Cronulla surf lifesavers to stop playing soccer, as it was disturbing other users of the beach. The response from the youths was: "Get off our beach. This is our beach. We own it." Shortly thereafter either two or three surf lifesavers were assaulted. | |||
| * During the following week, tensions simmered, with a text message being circulated urging retaliation. The text message encouraged "Aussies" to take revenge against "Lebs and wogs", and said "Bring your mates and let's show them that this is our beach and they are never welcome". It encouraged meeting on Sunday ]. | |||
| * On ] there were ongoing stories in the media about people who had been harassed and assaulted at Cronulla beach. | |||
| * On Thursday ], the ] premier urged people to not take the law into their own hands. | |||
| * On Sunday ] there were race riots. . | |||
| * On Monday ], there were reports of new text messages leading to concern over fresh violence at Cronulla. | |||
| ==Police response== | |||
| While police at Cronulla had commented that they were prepared to deal with any violence at Cronulla beach, at the time the SMS message suggested, local police were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who turned up to the beach on ]. The local policemen and women were being assaulted along with Lebanese and Middle Eastern people. Many police used riot equipment and ] to subdue their attackers. Eventually they had to call reinforcements from the ] police station. Police moved to protect several individuals targeted by the crowds, and used capsicum spray to subdue several individuals. Elouera Road was temporarily closed to traffic.{{ref|smh1}} | |||
| On the evening of the 11th, the '']'' quoted an ] spokesman as saying that seven people had been arrested, with charges filed against four individuals.{{ref|smh1}} By the morning of the 12th, "news.com.au" reported twelve arrests total. Charges included assaulting police, throwing a missile, offensive behaviour, hindering police, and resisting arrest.{{ref|aunews1}} | |||
| On ] a police strike force was established to track down those responsible for the riots using video and photo evidence. | |||
| ==Causes== | |||
| The motive for these riots is as yet unclear. The immediate catalyst appears to be racial hatred between "Aussies" (]) and "Lebs" (generic Australian slang for ]). A trigger for the riots was an ] text message calling for all "Aussies" to "retake" their beach from "Lebs and ]s". The SMS message, and its content, was widely disseminated through talkback radio and other media. | |||
| The text message was in response to the assault of two surf lifesavers on Cronulla beach on ], allegedly by a gang of Lebanese youths. Various ], ], ] and ] organisations were present at the riots, handing out leaflets advocating their causes and were said to have incited the violence. Some present were handing out flyers for the "]", a group linked to overseas ] organisations. | |||
| Politicians and local government officials speculated that racial hatred had been building for some time, and that the riot was retalition against perceived slights to the local community. ], ] for the ], linked the riots to the ] terrorist attacks, and to the ] in which six locals had been killed. The initial riot broke out in the vicinity of a memorial to those six victims of Bali terrorist bombings. | |||
| Press reports shortly before the riots appear to suggest sexual harrassment and intimidation of female beach-goers by gangs of Lebanese Muslim youths were a recurring problem at Cronulla in recent years, leading some to argue this was an underlying cause of the riots. It has been said that the Lebanese were responsible for assaults, rapes, vandalism and other atrocities in the area for nearly a decade. | |||
| Violence relating to access to beaches is not a new phenomenon, with violent clashes between outsiders and locals happening decades ago.{{fact}} | |||
| ==Reactions== | |||
| Political, community, and religious leaders condemned the violence. Some politicians and other leaders have alluded to underlying racism within Australian society, whilst others have condemned the violence as "thugish", criminal and drug-fueled behaviour. ], Police Commisioner of NSW, told the '']'' that he was ashamed at the "mob mentality" of the rally. He further elaborated: | |||
| <blockquote>"The other equally offensive conduct today, the absolutely total un-Australian conduct today, was an attack on an ambulance. That has brought a higher level of shame to those involved in that level of attack and they deserve to be condemned in the highest possible terms."{{ref|abc1}}</blockquote> | |||
| ], president of the ], stated that the violence was "bound to happen" because of racist rhetoric on Sydney ] throughout the week.{{ref|smh1}} | |||
| Prime Minister ] condemned the riots, describing the violence as "sickening", adding however that he does not believe racism to be widespread in Australia. Opposition leader ] also condemned the violence. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *{{note|smh1}}{{citenews|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/mob-violence-envelops-cronulla/2005/12/11/1134235936223.html|title=Mob violence envelops Cronulla|org=Sydney Morning Herald|date=] ]}} | |||
| *{{note|abc1}}{{citenews|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200512/s1528593.htm|title=Mob Mentality shameful: Police Comissioner|org=ABC News Online|date=] ]}} | |||
| *{{note|abc2}}{{citenews|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200512/s1528544.htm|title=Cronulla mob attacks beachgoers|org=ABC News Online|date=] ]}} | |||
| *{{note|abc3}}{{citenews|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200512/s1528611.htm|title=Violence moves to Maroubra: reports|org=ABC News Online|date=] ]}} | |||
| *{{note|abc4}}{{citenews|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200512/s1528619.htm|title=Violence Spread to Third Sydney Suburb|org=ABC News Online|date=] ]}} | |||
| *{{note|abc5}}{{citenews|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydneys-racial-tension-spreads/2005/12/11/1134235950547.html|title=Sydney's Racial Tension Spreads|org=ABC News Online|date=] ]}} | |||
| *{{note|newsau1}}{{citenews|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17537859-29280,00.html|title=Twelve Charged over Cronulla Melee|org=News.com.au|date=] ]}} | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *] | |||
| *'']'', a book and movie about the surfing culture in Sutherland shire | |||
| *'']'', an Australian film about a ] group attacking other ethnic groups. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{Wikinews|Violence at Cronulla Beach as 5000 people gather}} | |||
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