Sydney: Two Indians were arrested and more than 100 others were asked to move out of the area after the Indian community in Sydney's western suburb Harris Park held a protest against racial violence late on Tuesday.
Over 150 Indians stormed the streets of Harris Park late on Tuesday evening in protest against what they claimed was years of racial slurs and attacks in the area and demanded more police protection.
Students marching though Harris Park and finding safety in numbers has become a catch-cry for the Indian students.
"I just saw some of the Indian people behind me and suddenly some Lebanese people came up from behind and started to hit the Indians," claims an Indian student Jimit Shah.
The protest followed a clash between some young Indian men and Lebanese men in the same area on Monday night. Protesters accused the police of doing nothing about the racial attacks.
However, police and community leaders are playing down suggestions of racially motivated attacks in Sydney's western suburbs.
While some students claim to have been targeted because of their race, police say it's a law and order issue.
"What I would classify as a vigilante group or protestors coming out on the street and taking out a reprisal. I do not encourage reprisal attacks in any way," says Deputy Police Commissioner Dave Owens.
But the students say they've become the targets of regular violent assaults in the area.
But Ownes says, "The Indian community isn't over-representative as victims of crime."
There's plenty of debate about the problems at Harris Park. Some say it's territorial, others argue there are racial tensions.
Whatever the case, police are treating the attacks as random crimes and have pledged to increase patrols of Harris Park.
(Courtesy Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
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