Some of the attacks racist: says Australia

Acknowledging that the continuing attacks on Indians have cast a long shadow on its ties with New Delhi and sullied its image,Australia on Tuesday came out of the denial mode and admitted that some of the recent violence against Indians had clearly been racially motivated but vowed to punish the perpetrators with the full force of law.

In an apparent damage control exercise in the face of growing concern about the safety of Indians Down Under,Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said the attacks were inexcusable and were being taken very seriously by the government. Addressing the Parliament,he gave details about the number of arrests made by the police in the recent past in connection with the attacks.

He said in Victoria,which has seen the most number of attacks against Indians,some 45 people had been arrested. He also mentioned about the arrest of three persons in connection with the killing of Ranjodh Singh in New South Wales,where the police had also charged a man for assault on an Indian at a beach in January.

If any of these attacks have been racist in nature and it seems some of them have been they will be punished with the full force of the law, he said.