![]() The night angry ethnic mobs rallied and demanded blood A day after the Cronulla rampage, groups of Middle Eastern men, armed and dangerous, were out for revenge, writes Natalie O'Brien 06feb06 THE cry that went up was for blood. The angry group of ethnic men gathered in Parry Park the night after the Cronulla riots wanted to "knock" someone. In their sights was a police officer or a similar authority figure. The mob wanted to make a stand, and they had the backing and firepower of some of southwestern Sydney's most infamous families and criminal gangs. "They feel the time for talking is over and the only language the authorities understand is when someone gets hurt," said one of the men at the meeting. For the first time, the murderous intent that threatened to engulf those gathered in the park near the Lakemba mosque on December 12 last year has been revealed. Spurred by text messages carrying rumours, which were later found to be unsubstantiated, that the mosque was to be attacked and that a Muslim girl had been killed during the race riots, the ethnic crowd felt the aftermath of Cronulla was a time to fight back over a range of issues plaguing the community. Islamic Friendship Association president Keysar Trad said there was a lot of hot-headed ranting that night. "The whole issue was emotionally charged, and when issues leave the realm of rationality and become emotive they easily get out of hand," said Mr Trad. While community leaders assuaged some of the anger that night, some at the meeting had firearms and other weapons and were ready for a showdown. "They don't want to be unprepared and led like lambs to the slaughter," said one man at the meeting. Members of gangs from Newcastle and Wollongong, as well the Sydney suburbs of Redfern, Liverpool and Villawood, had travelled to the meeting. Together, the groups were said to have had considerable firepower -- enough to fuel speculation over whether the weapons influenced the police decision to not intervene later that night at three further meetings held by splinter groups, including one at nearby Punchbowl Park. Those at the Punchbowl Park meeting left slogans painted on the road, including "Aussie to Die", "Intifada" and "We fear no ozy pigs". It was also from Punchbowl Park that a convoy of cars headed for Cronulla and Maroubra, another beachside suburb, on a night when more than 100 ethnic men were involved in retaliatory attacks that included smashing up cars. Police investigating the December 11 riots and revenge attacks were accused of losing audio tapes made that night by officers who recorded the number plates of the cars at Punchbowl Park. Police denied losing any tapes but said two audio devices malfunctioned and failed to record. However, the plate numbers were manually recorded, police said. Police are understood to have more than 200 number plates of cars that were in the area that night. Community members said that deep-seated feelings of frustration and helplessness poured out at Parry Park. "They just want us to be shit-kickers and cleaners" and "they don't want to see us drive nice cars" were typical comments. One man likened the years of zero tolerance by police and lockdown zones to being in their own Gaza Strip. "We feel we are Palestinians in an Australian Jewish state," he said. And there was a feeling that Islam was perceived as the "new communism" and that Muslims were being hunted in the same manner as "Reds under the beds" during the Cold War. Youth leader Fadi Rahman said the community was tired of being treated as "second-class citizens". "They feel they have been dealt with harshly in the past," he said. Former policeman Michael Kennedy said the meeting at Parry Park "mirrored the same behaviour which was happening in the broader community". Dr Kennedy, now an academic with the Social Justice and Social Change Research Centre at the University of Western Sydney, said those politicising the issue were fanning the flames at a distance and waiting for an opportunity. "But the people shaping all of these things seldom pay the price for their actions," he said.
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