Cronulla Riots
The Cronulla riots were violent riots ( English Riots ), which in December 2005 in Cronulla, a suburb of Sydney in Australia took place.
prehistory
The occasion was a press release by the police on December 5, 2005. It was reported that the day before, in front of many witnesses on the beach, four attackers, who by appearance came from the Middle East , confronted two young lifeguards and had received massive reinforcements, whereupon the two lifeguards were surrounded and beaten in such a way that they were taken to a hospital . In fact, a group of three lifeguards passed a group of eight young people of Middle Eastern descent , whereupon through mutual eye contact, an argument developed with a brawl between the two groups.
escalation
By the morning of the message mastered the subject mass media , and two days later reported a moderator in the radio of the "good answer" a listener from other municipalities arriving at the station Lebanese numerous rockers to let you receive, do the "many good things ”So that the“ scrap ”would no longer have to be accepted.
On December 8, New South Wales police warned they would not tolerate retaliatory attacks planned for December 11 in Cronulla. On the radio, a moderator replied to the objection that there are always two sides, the caller should not distract, because he did not hear any complaints about Christians .
Riots
On December 11, 2005, 5,000 people gathered in Cronulla, some stormed a train at the station, some attacked and injured paramedics . The violence began around 1:00 p.m. after the crowd spotted a lone Middle Eastern man on the street and chased him. The rioters waved Australian flags and shouted nationalist and racist slogans. In addition to physical injuries, there was sometimes considerable property damage to vehicles and buildings.
The police, with only about 700 officers on site, had not anticipated such levels of violence and were unable to bring the situation under control. Their measures were limited primarily to protecting bystanders. On the following Monday, several people were again injured, shop windows smashed and vehicles damaged in acts of revenge by youths of Arab origin.
reaction
The then Australian Prime Minister John Howard said of the riots: "To attack people because of their race, their appearance, their origin is completely unacceptable". But he also sees no subliminal racism in the country's society. Police Minister Carl Scully called the riots "an act of white superiority".
Since Christmas and New Year's Eve were just around the corner, two festivals that are often spent on the beach in Australia, there was enormous public pressure on the authorities to stop further riots, including in other suburbs of the city near the beach.
The following Tuesday, December 13, 2005, the New South Wales Parliament decided to give the police far-reaching rights to prevent further incidents. The new laws came into effect on Thursday, December 15, 2005 and were initially limited to three years.
The main part of the new powers was the right of the police to confiscate items that could possibly be used by potential perpetrators in further rioting for up to 48 hours. Particular attention was paid to dangerous objects (weapons, but also, for example, petrol cans) and mobile phones. Cars of alleged perpetrators could also be withheld.
On the weekend of December 17 and 18, 2005, several thousand police officers, some of them from other states, were gathered in Sydney. In addition to Cronulla, the police focused on other parts of the city as well as particularly popular beaches. The traffic on the access roads was controlled. Business owners were advised not to open their stores. The new powers were used. The measures showed success. Riots could not only be prevented this weekend. The unrest had subsided completely and the following holidays could be spent in peace, albeit with the police present on the beaches.
consequences
In the weeks following the riots, discussions arose in Australian society as to whether a multicultural society was feasible. Since the white Australians described themselves as patriots , on the occasion of Australia Day, for example, a public discussion about the national pride widespread in Australia was held.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b New South Wales Police: Cronulla Riots Report and Recommendations - Volume 1 of 4 (PDF; 19.44 MB) Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Pp. 26-29. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
- ^ New South Wales Police: Cronulla Riots Report and Recommendations, p. 31
- ^ Cronulla police vow to defend our way of life . In: The Daily Telegraph (Australia) . HighBeam Research. December 8, 2005. Archived from the original on December 17, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
- ^ New South Wales Police: Cronulla Riots Report and Recommendations, p. 33
- ↑ Mob violence envelops Cronulla . The Sydney Morning Herald . December 11, 2005. Retrieved January 20, 2013.
- ^ New South Wales Police: Cronulla Riots Report and Recommendations, p. 39
- ^ Spiegel Online: Race Unrest Goes On , December 12, 2005
- ^ N-tv: Outbreak of violence in Sydney , December 13, 2005
- ↑ Heise Online: Randale on the Beaches , December 14, 2005
