chugs
Bluelighter
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Violence erupts at Cronulla | mob 5000 attack couple
Violence erupts at Cronulla December 11, 2005 - 6:20PM
Police have been pushed, pelted with beer bottles and had their patrol cars stomped on as violence worsens at Sydney's Cronulla Beach.
Racial tension turned to violence today as at least 5000 angry people converged on the beach after simmering anger and disputes between beach users flared last week.
An ambulance spokesman said crews had treated at least five people after pockets of violence broke out among the crowd.
At least two of those would require hospital treatment, he said.
No details about their injuries were available. The two most seriously injured were at the Cronulla Surf Lifesaving Club, he said.
He could not comment on a report that a girl of Middle Eastern appearance had been pushed over and was kicked repeatedly as she lay on the ground.
Reporters at the scene said groups of young men had been seen hurling beer bottles at police cars.
Crowds also swarmed around police vehicles, stomping on them and preventing them from moving through the troubled community's foreshore area.
Roads have been closed down in the area and some traffic lights are out.
Police are also standing guard at the kiosk adjoining the surf club, where roller doors have been pulled down as the violence continues.
Six people have been arrested and four people have been charged, a NSW police spokesman said.
A 28-year-old Cronulla man has been charged with affray and a 17-year-old Cronulla youth has been charged with assault police.
The pair will face Sutherland Local Court at a date to be fixed.
Two people - a 16-year-old Sutherland boy, and 33-year-old Kareela man - have been charged with offensive conduct.
The 33-year-old will also face Sutherland Local Court at a later date.
It was not known how the youth's charge will be handled.
Anther two people have been arrested and are being questioned at Miranda police station.
No charges have been laid.
Witnesses at the beach reported seeing police use capsicum spray to subdue at least one man.
A reporter at Cronulla station, where violence has also flared, said police were involved in a physical struggle with a group trying to board a train.
They used capsicum spray to subdue the group.
It was not clear if any of the arrests related to earlier witness reports of at least three men being pursued and attacked as they tried to get away from angry members of the crowd chasing them on foot.
At least two of the men took refuge at Northies Pub, where police gathered to protect them, Macquarie Radio reported.
Broken beer bottles scattered Elouera Road, which runs along the foreshore, with many in the crowd drinking heavily. Police have had to close the road to traffic at times.
Mounted police and other units are maintaining a heavy presence at the beach today after two rival groups used text messages to urge attacks on each other.
Some of the text messages encouraged people to carry out vigilante style attacks, and some message had racial undertones.
One of the messages had urged "Aussies" to take revenge against "Lebs and wogs". Another urged locals to rally at points on the beach today to take retaliation against "Middle-Eastern" gangs.
As the crowd moved along the beach and foreshore area today, one man on the back of a ute began to shout "No more Lebs" - a chant picked up by the group around him.
Others in the crowd, carrying Australian flags and dressed in Australian shirts, yelled "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie ... Oi, Oi, Oi".
North Cronulla Beach, in Sydney's south, was the scene of two violent incidents last week - an attack on two lifesavers on Sunday and a brawl later in the week in which youths turned on a media crew.
Two ambulance officers were injured when an angry mob attacked their vehicle.
The ambulance was transporting six injured youths under police escort when the crowd descended upon the vehicle and began hurling beer bottles.
Windows on the ambulance were shattered and its panelling dented from kicking.
A NSW Ambulance spokesman said one officer was hit in the head with a bottle as it passed through a broken window.
A second ambulance officer received lacerations to the arm. A police officer in the vehicle was not hurt.
The six patients were taken to an area away from the crowd where they were assessed by doctors.
One patient was taken to St George Hospital with unspecified but minor injuries.
The other five were released.
Dozens of people have been treated for minor cuts and bruises, and some have been decontaminated for capsicum spray, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Sydney's Islamic community has blamed the violence on what it calls racist and irresponsible sections of the media.
Islamic Friendship Association of Australia president Keysar Trad said the violence was "bound to happen" because of racist rhetoric on Sydney talkback radio throughout the week.
"Sections of the media took this issue far too far and one can only surmise that the way this issues was dealt with on talkback radio amounts to incitement," Mr Trad said.
He said the media turned a common youth issue into an issue of ethnicity.
"One wonders how much further this can go before those people on talkback radio become more responsible," he said.
He said the racist chants show people are not acting rationally, but are "filled with hatred".
Premier Morris Iemma and Police Minister Carl Scully have warned people against taking the law into their own hands.
"Let there be no mistake - if anyone comes to this beach on the weekend with the intention of causing trouble, the police will respond with the full force of the law to maintain order," Mr Iemma said yesterday.
"It's time for everyone involved in this to just calm down."
AAP
Violence erupts at Cronulla December 11, 2005 - 6:20PM
Police have been pushed, pelted with beer bottles and had their patrol cars stomped on as violence worsens at Sydney's Cronulla Beach.
Racial tension turned to violence today as at least 5000 angry people converged on the beach after simmering anger and disputes between beach users flared last week.
An ambulance spokesman said crews had treated at least five people after pockets of violence broke out among the crowd.
At least two of those would require hospital treatment, he said.
No details about their injuries were available. The two most seriously injured were at the Cronulla Surf Lifesaving Club, he said.
He could not comment on a report that a girl of Middle Eastern appearance had been pushed over and was kicked repeatedly as she lay on the ground.
Reporters at the scene said groups of young men had been seen hurling beer bottles at police cars.
Crowds also swarmed around police vehicles, stomping on them and preventing them from moving through the troubled community's foreshore area.
Roads have been closed down in the area and some traffic lights are out.
Police are also standing guard at the kiosk adjoining the surf club, where roller doors have been pulled down as the violence continues.
Six people have been arrested and four people have been charged, a NSW police spokesman said.
A 28-year-old Cronulla man has been charged with affray and a 17-year-old Cronulla youth has been charged with assault police.
The pair will face Sutherland Local Court at a date to be fixed.
Two people - a 16-year-old Sutherland boy, and 33-year-old Kareela man - have been charged with offensive conduct.
The 33-year-old will also face Sutherland Local Court at a later date.
It was not known how the youth's charge will be handled.
Anther two people have been arrested and are being questioned at Miranda police station.
No charges have been laid.
Witnesses at the beach reported seeing police use capsicum spray to subdue at least one man.
A reporter at Cronulla station, where violence has also flared, said police were involved in a physical struggle with a group trying to board a train.
They used capsicum spray to subdue the group.
It was not clear if any of the arrests related to earlier witness reports of at least three men being pursued and attacked as they tried to get away from angry members of the crowd chasing them on foot.
At least two of the men took refuge at Northies Pub, where police gathered to protect them, Macquarie Radio reported.
Broken beer bottles scattered Elouera Road, which runs along the foreshore, with many in the crowd drinking heavily. Police have had to close the road to traffic at times.
Mounted police and other units are maintaining a heavy presence at the beach today after two rival groups used text messages to urge attacks on each other.
Some of the text messages encouraged people to carry out vigilante style attacks, and some message had racial undertones.
One of the messages had urged "Aussies" to take revenge against "Lebs and wogs". Another urged locals to rally at points on the beach today to take retaliation against "Middle-Eastern" gangs.
As the crowd moved along the beach and foreshore area today, one man on the back of a ute began to shout "No more Lebs" - a chant picked up by the group around him.
Others in the crowd, carrying Australian flags and dressed in Australian shirts, yelled "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie ... Oi, Oi, Oi".
North Cronulla Beach, in Sydney's south, was the scene of two violent incidents last week - an attack on two lifesavers on Sunday and a brawl later in the week in which youths turned on a media crew.
Two ambulance officers were injured when an angry mob attacked their vehicle.
The ambulance was transporting six injured youths under police escort when the crowd descended upon the vehicle and began hurling beer bottles.
Windows on the ambulance were shattered and its panelling dented from kicking.
A NSW Ambulance spokesman said one officer was hit in the head with a bottle as it passed through a broken window.
A second ambulance officer received lacerations to the arm. A police officer in the vehicle was not hurt.
The six patients were taken to an area away from the crowd where they were assessed by doctors.
One patient was taken to St George Hospital with unspecified but minor injuries.
The other five were released.
Dozens of people have been treated for minor cuts and bruises, and some have been decontaminated for capsicum spray, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Sydney's Islamic community has blamed the violence on what it calls racist and irresponsible sections of the media.
Islamic Friendship Association of Australia president Keysar Trad said the violence was "bound to happen" because of racist rhetoric on Sydney talkback radio throughout the week.
"Sections of the media took this issue far too far and one can only surmise that the way this issues was dealt with on talkback radio amounts to incitement," Mr Trad said.
He said the media turned a common youth issue into an issue of ethnicity.
"One wonders how much further this can go before those people on talkback radio become more responsible," he said.
He said the racist chants show people are not acting rationally, but are "filled with hatred".
Premier Morris Iemma and Police Minister Carl Scully have warned people against taking the law into their own hands.
"Let there be no mistake - if anyone comes to this beach on the weekend with the intention of causing trouble, the police will respond with the full force of the law to maintain order," Mr Iemma said yesterday.
"It's time for everyone involved in this to just calm down."
AAP
Last edited:
,what happened today was wrong also.There is no excuse for what happened last week, and what happened today.
