Prime Minister Kevin Rudd today said violence in Australian cities against students, including Indians, was "regrettable part" of urban life but warned against vigilante action, saying such acts as equally unwelcome.
"It's unacceptable for anyone to commit an act of violence against any student of any ethnicity anywhere in Australia," Rudd said.
He said while violence in all Australian cities was "a regrettable part" of urban life, vigilante action was equally unwelcome.
Rudd's remarks came close in the heels of the first act of retaliation by the Indian community here following racial attacks on them.
Indian students have also formed groups to protect students from racial attacks at St Albans and Thomastown railway stations in Melbourne's west after a spate of assaults on the community members in the area.
"This is one of the safest countries in the world for international students," Rudd said.
Rudd said it was unacceptable for any student group to take the law into their own hands.
"I fully support hardline measures in response to any act of violence towards any student anywhere - Indian or otherwise," he said.
"And furthermore we also need to render as completely unacceptable people taking the law into their own hands. Everyone needs just to draw some breath on this and we need to see a greater atmosphere of general calm," he said.
Rudd said students should report any acts of violence against them to police and if their complaints were not followed through, they should go to their local members of parliament.
When asked whether the student protests signalled future racial tension in Australia, the Prime Minister said the nation had an inherent culture of tolerance.
"With each new wave of immigrants to this country there's been debates and concerns and they've all faded and they've have all been resolved," he said.
Meanwhile, Victorian Premier John Brumby and state police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland, who visited the troubled western area of Melbourne, also reassured the Indian students of their safety and security.
Overland, who admitted that some of the attacks on Indian students were "clearly racist in motivation," announced a crackdown on crime at trouble-spot train stations after a spate of violent attacks.
"Some of the attacks were clearly racist in motivation and that violence is unacceptable and racism is unacceptable in any form," Overland said, adding "We want to make it clear that everyone in Victoria is safe (and) protected as best we can."
Overland and Premier John Brumby visited St Albans railway station in Melbourne's west to announce a high-visibility operation targeting Sunshine, St Albans, Thomastown, Clayton and Dandenong.
Brumby said he wanted to reassure India and its Government that Indian students and visitors to Victoria will be safe.
"Today's announcement is about saying whether you live here or whether you are a visitor here and studying here you will be safe," he said.
Mounted police, dog squads and helicopter patrols will be used to crack down on crime. The operation will include uniformed police, transit police, the dog squad, the mounted branch and helicopter patrols in and around train stations. Overland said it was unfortunate that international students, particularly Indian students, had been caught up in the broader issue of street robberies.
"We have already been doing a lot of work to tackle the growing trend of street robberies over the past 18 months," Overland said.
"We have certainly not been sitting on our hands with this issue and this increased enforcement will further bolster our already concerted efforts. This is not something new but instead an enhanced approach" he added.
Last night, over 70 Indian men gathered in Harris Park in Sydney's west after rumours of a man being killed in an attack and assault on an Indian cleaner in Warwick Farm.
According to the TV reports, two people were arrested during last night protest. One of them was released without charges while another is still in custody. One of the men was charged with carrying a pole that could have been used as a weapon, police said.
Plans were made by some students to travel to Granville to confront Lebanese youths, but they could not rally enough support. Later, members of the mob said they could not go home as they feared carloads of men were waiting to meet them beyond the police cordon.
"Someone could die tonight," one of the men said. The crowd dispersed about midnight, a police spokeswoman said.
Indian leaders met police in Parramatta yesterday to discuss the previous night's violence.
Up to 200 men of Indian background had rallied in the main street of Harris Park after reports that a group of men of Middle Eastern appearance had assaulted an Indian man.
"Our people say nothing until water goes up over the top," Jindi Singh, a taxi driver from Harris Park, said. "Police won't do anything, but we've got to do something."
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith called on Indian students to be calm, echoing the calls from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Indian counterpart S M Krishna.
The Australian government was working with the Indian High Commission and state police forces to bring the attackers to justice, Smith said.
"It may well take some time to bring these matters entirely under control but we're working very assiduously and closely with the Indian government on it," he told ABC Television.
Indian students had made their point in "generally peaceful" protests both in NSW and in Victoria, he said,adding "but, I simply echo the comments of my Indian counterpart- the time has now come for restraint, the time has come for calm."
"We know that both in Victoria and NSW those relevant authorities are working very hard on this," Smith said.
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said that the governments will continue to work with Indian students to make sure they feel safe, but the community should not lose sight of the fact Australia is a welcoming nation.
"We want to focus on the problems, we want to rectify the problems, but we want to remind ourselves we are a welcoming country and overwhelmingly safe country and this has been a great place and will continue to be a great place for international students," she told reporters in Sydney today.
"We can respond to any problems, we can be talking to the community about safety, what would make them feel safe and what more can be done," she added.
