Australia and the Riots

Racial tensions in Australia have been rising in recent years, largely because of anti-Muslim sentiment fueled by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States and the October 2002 bombings on the Indonesian island of Bali that killed 202 people, including 88 Australians.

They also were heightened by a gang rape case in 2002 in which prosecutors and witnesses said members of a Lebanese gang hurled racial abuse at their rape victims, all of whom were white.

The rape case has much to do with this. People were appalled by the crassness of the perpetrators toward their victims. To many the authorities were not forceful enough in dealing with the problem.

New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma and Assistant Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione have announced more than 400 police will patrol Sydney's suburbs again tonight to crack down on possible violence.

Yesterday, Mr. Iemma announced police will be able to lock down suburban streets, ban alcohol sales and search and confiscate cars.

There will also be a presumption against bail for people charged with rioting offenses.

An emergency session of Parliament will be called tomorrow to pass the laws.

To avoid continuing problems as in France, officials must move quickly and aggressively to bring order. There are of course those hand wringers who just can't see or understand the problem.

Robin Banks from the Public Interest Advocacy Center says granting more power to police is a knee-jerk response.

None of this is difficult for everyone to understand though.

In another development, some Muslim mothers are considering imposing a curfew on their children in a bid to help police investigating the racial violence.

After holding a series of meetings to discuss ways of helping authorities, the mothers group has decided to keep their children at home on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights until the situation is resolved.

It is earnestly hoped that once the violence is quelled the authorities will not drop the ball. There are serious issues in Moslem culture that need addressing in the context of Australian society. Moral judgments need to be made and codified and enforced to avoid more trouble.

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