Indonesian students demand Australia to act on violence

The Jakarta Post   |  Thu, 11/20/2008 9:55 PM

The Indonesian Foreign Students Association (PPIA) has demanded authorities in Australia respond accordingly to repeated violence against Indonesians studying in the country.

PPIA chairman Mohamad Fauzi reported the latest violence against Indonesian students to Antara newswire on Thursday, claiming one of its members, Inge Dhamanti, and her husband were attacked by an unidentified Caucasian for no apparent reason on Tuesday.

"We want the Australian government to pay attention to this incident. The perpetrator must be held legally responsible," Fauzi said, adding that he had also notified Indonesian consulates in Canberra and Melbourne.

Several such incidents have occurred in the past to other Indonesian students, Fauzi said. For example, Airlangga Hutama was attacked in March in Adelaide by a drunken Caucasian man; and Andi Safrani, a student living in Melbourne, was robbed in October.

Fauzi said the student association had never heard back from related authorities in Australia following initial reports, despite formal reports having been made.

There were many other Indonesian students who had become victims of various types of violence and extortion in Australia, but many refrained from lodging formal reports.

An official at the Indonesian embassy in Canberra, Yoni Utomo, said he had reported Inge's case to the ambassador and sent an envoy to Melbourne police office to seek more information.

Inge said the attack had happened while she and her husband were at the Direct Factory Outlet (DFO) in Southern Cross, Melbourne.

"While we were walking, holding hands, a group of men walked between us, forcing us to let go of each other," Inge said.

One of the men attacked the husband and lashed out at him with foul language, Inge said. Inge attempted to drag her husband away from the attacker but he punched her in the face.

"I suddenly found myself kissing the DFO floor. When I came to, I saw my husband fighting with blood all over his face. Lots of people came to help. It took three men to control the guy," Inge said. (and)

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