Leaders quiz Howard on Australia violence

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Southeast Asian leaders have
quizzed Australian Prime Minister John Howard at a regional
summit about the racial violence that has gripped Sydney’s
beachside suburbs.

But Howard told reporters in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday that
the violence, which erupted at Sydney’s Cronulla beach at the
weekend, will not tarnish his visit to the first East Asia
summit.

“Incidents like this that don’t play well around the world
can happen in any country,” Howard said shortly before he
joined 15 other leaders for the half-day summit.

When asked if Asian leaders had asked him about the
violence, Howard said: “It was mentioned informally, yes, a few
people asked about it. We chatted about it over a drink before
dinner.”

A massive police operation restored calm to Sydney’s
beachside suburbs overnight after two nights of racial unrest.

The violence began on Sunday when 5,000 people, some
yelling racist chants, attacked youths of Middle Eastern
background. They said they were defending the beach after
lifesavers were attacked by what the mobs said were Lebanese
attackers.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the chair
of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations
(ASEAN), told reporters on Tuesday that any riots were
worrying.

Abdullah also mentioned the racial violence during a lunch
of leaders from ASEAN, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, a
Japanese official said.

“Racial and religious conflicts are difficult issues, but
we must solve them,” the official quoted Abdullah as telling
the leaders when referring to the Sydney violence.

ASEAN consists of Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, the Philippines, Myanmar, Singapore and
Thailand. The East Asia summit is made up of ASEAN, China,
Japan, South Korea, Australia, India and New Zealand.

Howard has refused to be drawn on the cause of the
violence.

“When they have settled down will be a time for people to
think about the reasons why it occurred. We should never lose
sight of the fact that primarily what happened was that a group
of people broke the law,” he said.

(Additional reporting by George Nishiyama)