Race attacks: Aust envoy tries to pacify India

Maintaining that Australia was taking all steps to the 'best of its ability' to ensure the safety of Indian students there, Australian High Commissioner Peter Verghese on Wednesday said it was not possible to totally abolish crime and disagreed that majority of recent assaults on Indians were 'racially' motivated.

He also said the perception (of lack of security) may be one of the factors leading to the decline in the number of Indian students in the current year, but said his country was not in 'number games' and aimed at providing quality and niche education.

Verghese also denied that Foreign Minister Simon Crean has described India's reaction to the recent attacks as 'hysterical', saying the Indian government's reaction has been a 'measured one' and 'totally understandable'.

Giving details of various measures taken by his government for the safety of Indians, Verghese said, "These measures are designed to address the problem. To ensure full safety, we would have to abolish crime in Australia and I don't think it is a realistic objective and nor do I think it would be credible if the government in Australia was to say that it is in a position to do so. "No government in the world is in a position to abolish crime completely," he said.

Asked if he is expecting a decline in the number of students coming to Australia, he answered in the affirmative and said there could be various reasons, including recession and cost of living in that country, and of course the perception of lack of safety among prospective students.

It is possible that their parents may deter them from applying for studies in Australia, Verghese said.

Commenting on the expected decline in number of students in wake of the attacks, Verghese said, "If the numbers drop, they drop".

Australia has seen a steep rise in the number of students in last three years from 30,000 to nearly 1,00,000. He said it was 'regrettable' that the number of attacks has gone up in recent months.

The envoy, however, stressed that his country was taking all necessary measures to ensure security of international students. Asked why Canberra has been profusely rejecting that the attacks on Indian were racially motivated, he said it was not as if "in-principle, we are refusing that there are racial attacks."

But he added that one needs to see where the evidence is leading. In majority of cases in such crimes, the evidence has shown that they were 'opportunistic urban crimes', he said.

He described the killing of 21-year-old Nitin Garg as 'vicious', but added, "Let's not conclude that it is racially motivated before the police complete their investigations".

He said the government was also making arrangements to bring back Garg's body to India. Asked about the advisory issued by the Indian government to its students, he said it was a decision of the initiating countries and it would be quite improper for him to comment on the decision to issue it.

"It was a reflection of Indian government's opinion of the situation in Australia," he said.

Three days after a youth was fatally stabbed in Melbourne, the Foreign Office issued an advisory on Tuesday, asking Indian students studying in Australia and those planning to do so to take basic precautions while moving around in the country.