Rival protesters clash in Sydney in race-tinged rally
Scuffles have erupted between anti-racism demonstrators and anti-Muslim protesters in the Australian city of Sydney as hundreds of people and riot police converged at the site of a racist rally.
The clashes took place Saturday on Sydney’s southern Cronulla beach as anti-Islam groups attempted to hold a “memorial” rally marking the 10th anniversary of what is widely referred to as "modern Australia’s worst race riots."
The plan for the rally came despite a court order blocking it. Organizers also planned to hold a so-called “halal-free” barbecue.
During the riots on December 11, 2005, a mob of thousands of drunken white individuals attacked Arab-Australians following an incident in which two lifeguards at the beach were attacked and beaten up by unidentified assailants.
According to local media outlets, the riot shocked Australians, triggering a major debate on whether the nation of many migrants was developing racist tendencies.
Riot police outnumbered the few hundred demonstrators from both sides amid concerns of another outbreak of violence.
The two groups were largely kept separate, despite several minor clashes that were swiftly broken up by police officers, authorities said. Two men were detained during the scuffles.
During the Saturday event, the supporters of the far-right group Rise Up Australia, draped in the national flag over their shoulders, chanted slogans as the rival, anti-racist protesters carried banners such as “Stand with Muslims against racism.”
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