Australia PM on race attacks against Indians

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has described the attacks on Indians in his country as regrettable, but added that such incidents should be kept in context.

Responding to Foreign Minister S M Krishna's warning on Wednesday that the latest in a series of attacks on Indians in Australia did not 'augur well' for bilateral ties, The Age quoted Rudd as saying, "Obviously these are difficult matters in India, they are difficult matters in Australia. We are working through them in a practical and effective way over time."

"The truth is this: the vast majority of Indian students in Australia are embraced entirely by the Australian community, (they) get on with their business of studying hard, getting their qualifications and going off to do whatever they want to do with their lives," he said.

"Regrettably, there have been some incidents recently, let's accept that, but let's put it into context, and also in the context of, let's call it, the broader incidences of violence to students of other ethnic backgrounds, acts of violence against Australian students, acts of violence in particular parts of our large cities at any given time of the day. I think it's important to keep all this into context," he added.