Oz minister admits some assaults racist

Visiting Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Wednesday apprised the Indian government of the security measure put in place to ensure security of Indians in Australia.

Visiting Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Wednesday apprised the Indian government of the security measure put in place to ensure security of Indians in Australia.

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Smith and Home Minister P Chidambaram discussed the steps being taken by Australia to prevent attacks on Indians and punish those responsible for earlier assaults, sources said.

The Australian minister said 70 cases had been filed and admitted that many of the assaults were racist in nature.

Security for the upcoming Commonwealth Games also came up for discussion.

The two ministers also talked about issues related to the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, signed in July 2008, which is yet to be ratified, a source said. Smith later met External Affairs Minister SM Krishna who conveyed India’s concern on the issue of students’ attack.

Meet with BJP brass
Indians come under attack in Australia because they do jobs like driving cabs that involves late hours, Smith told the BJP leaders.

Smith told leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj that visa rules would be streamlined to ensure that Indians only get admission into genuine courses.

Smith’s decision to meet Opposition leaders came at the suggestion of Krishna.

The BJP leaders had met Krishna to convey the party’s dismay over “insufficient diplomatic pressure” on Australia.

“We had a fruitful discussion,” Swaraj told HT after the meeting.