On Sunday 24th May 2009 Sravan Kumar Theerthala, along with his friends, attended a party in Hadfield, Melbourne. Kumar, from Andhra Pradesh, India, like over 80,000 other Indians is in Australia to study. A group of teenage gatecrashers injured Kumar and three of his friends. Kumar was viciously attacked to the head with a screwdriver, the screwdriver entering near one temple and protruding near the other. Kumar suffered extensive brain damage, remaining in a coma for a week, and is being treated at The Royal Melbourne Hospital in Parkville.
The attack on Kumar and his friends was not the first violent attack against Indian students in Australia, though provided a catalyst for action against racially motivated attacks. The Federation of Indian Students in Australia (FISA) estimates there have been more than 500 attacks on Indian students in Australia in the past four years. In the days following the attack on Kumar FISA President Gautam Gupta received a growing number of calls for FISA to hold protest rallies against attacks on Indian students. Gupta acknowledged that Australian and Indian authorities were discussing the issue though bowed to the growing pressure to organise a rally.
On Saturday 30th May 2009 FISA gave a media release for a peace rally to occur 11:30am the following day, starting at Royal Melbourne Hospital and concluding with a candlelight vigil at Victorian Parliament House. The purpose of the rally was “to create an awareness about an increasing number of hate crimes within the state and to promote racial harmony and peace.” The rally was not just about Indians and encouraged “all Victorians to show support for residents of all ethnic backgrounds.”
At 11:30am on Sunday 31st May 2009 approximately 200 people gathered outside Royal Melbourne Hospital in Parkville. The day looked promising; Kumar was emerging from a coma, and the sun was breaking through the early morning fog. Rally organisers, including Gupta and former Consul General of India in Melbourne Dr TJ Rao, met with police to discuss the purpose of the rally, outlining the schedule and route to be taken. The organisers emphasised they were intent on being peaceful, and intended to cause minimal disruption, though were concerned about the motives of factional rallies including one starting at Federation Square.
The rally started well, with the passionate group picking up momentum as they kept to the footpath along Royal Parade and Elizabeth Street. Every few hundred metres the group briefly stopped to pose for a photograph and to let those at the rear catch up. At the rear of the rally was a small group with bicycles who seemed intent on disrupting traffic by lingering across intersections. Passing drivers did not mind the disruption, happy to wait a minute while reading the placards pleading for peace before continuing on their way.
The group made their way along Bourke Street and their numbers began to swell. Other factions joined the rally, covering more than the length of a city block and stopping all trams. No longer was there one unified message of peace, with chants competing for dominance. Arriving at Parliament House the passionate crowd filled the intersection of Bourke Street and Spring Street. Loud hailers were used to project rhetoric over the crowd, though barely audible over constant cheers and jeers. Network media listened to the concerns of the protesters. Victorian Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu paid a visit to a warm reception, standing tall amongst the crowd.
There at Parliament House was where the rally was scheduled to end. But the crowd continued to gather momentum and numbers with no united voice and no planned approach. Their interests had been heard, but the crowd was goaded by factions who demanded action. Many with ulterior motives joined the rally; a large Socialist Alliance banner was prominent amongst the crowd. University of Melbourne Graduate Student Association President Paul Coats was there to spruik his own agenda. Instead of participating in a peaceful protest Mr Coates incited civil disobedience while claiming otherwise; being unable to resolve a situation through hypocrisy is not a Catch 22 situation. Unable to come to a resolution the group was encouraged to move to Federation Square to minimise impact on the public.
With the bright sun starting to sink the crowd slowly made their way back down Bourke Street. The crowd, now estimated to be around 4000, packed the street and chanted loudly. Making their way down Swanston Street the crowd got to Flinders Street then stopped. Urged on by the likes of Damian Ridgwell, President of Swinburne Student Union, and a self appointed representative for the rally, the crowd embarked on civil disobedience through a sit-in on the intersection of Flinders Street and Swanston Street conducted as leverage to garner immediate government action.
The crowd swamped the steps and main entrance to Flinders Street Station. Windows above the entrance were damaged by a protestor resulting in police arrests and the crowd being pushed back off the steps and onto the street. The main entrance of Flinders Street Station remained closed throughout peak hour, with commuters directed towards the Elizabeth Street entrance. An occasional candle flickered as the sky darkened. The banners and message of the crowd became lost amongst the busy intersection.
Organisers of the rally, including Gupta, tried unsuccessfully to persuade the crowd to move to Federation Square. Gupta discussed the original intentions of the rally and possible ways to ameliorate the situation with police Superintendent Stephen Lane and Chief Commissioner Simon Overland. Lane, like Gupta, addressed the crowd and was unsuccessful in resolving the issues. The loud hailers used seemed ineffective over the ambient noise and any message capable of leading to a desirable outcome seemed lost. The crowd seemed set in their resolve to stay, refusing to move until their demands were met.
Lane and Overland discussed with a smaller group, including Ridgwell, on how to resolve the situation. Overland asked to speak to a representative of the rally and to know specifically what they wanted. The group was unable to decide on a representative or desired outcome, and instead four representatives met with Overland. By this point there was already a stalemate; the representatives effectively wanted something that could be provided by politicians and not by police. Without any elected representatives there was no hope of immediate action.
Effectively the original organisers of the rally from FISA did not want the rally to go that far or for it to continue. They were unable to control the passionate crowd who were spurred on with a mob mentality by those with ulterior motives and their own causes. Police were limited in their ability to resolve the situation as they don’t make political decisions. Forcibly breaking up the demonstration would detract attention from the protestor’s cause and result in anger directed at police. History has shown how police action is not a desirable approach to conflict resolution but a last resort. In this case police acted the following morning, ending the stalemate.
On Tuesday 2nd June 2009 the FISA Executive met with representatives from Victoria Police and the Victorian Premier’s Department. Further discussions are scheduled to occur on Thursday, 4th June 2009 regarding strategies and options as part of an Action Plan. The Action Plan is expected to cover issues related to racial awareness and tolerance, increased police patrols of public transport, international student accommodation and integration, insurance and a multicultural police force.