Hazaras in Australia call on Pakistan to act to end violence

20 Feb 2013, 5:57 pm   -   Source: Katrina Yu, SBS

This video has expired

We're sorry but this video has expired. You may find another one to watch on the right or click here to return to the video page.

Share This
0 
+ Comment
7

Hundreds of members of the Hazara community in Australia have staged protests across the country, asking Pakistan to do more for the safety of their people there.

RELATED

Hundreds of members of the Hazara community in Australia have staged protests across the country, demanding more be done to ensure the safety of their people in Pakistan.

Eighty-nine people were killed and more than 200 injured in a bomb blast in the south-western city of Quetta, the second targeting the Shiite minority in five weeks.

"This is a very systematic genocide of Hazara people," Hazara Community advocate Shams Abbas told SBS in Sydney. "It is the responsibility of a government to give protection to their people".

Lashker-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni extremist group that has targeted Shiites in the past, claimed responsibility for the attack.

The 10,000-strong Hazara community in Australia is confident the Pakistani embassy will listen to its demands, peacefully made, at this protest today. But protesters say they are yet to see any real changes made on the ground in Pakistan.

Organisers say their people have been persecuted for centuries. "This is not the end, again they will go for another bomb blast or target killing," said Hazara Religious Scholar Indress Hassan.

Amnesty International says it has documented 90 attacks over the past year, leading to the deaths of more than 500 Hazaras. "As far as we're concerned there's very little to no effort to catch those responsible," said Amnesty International spokesman Alex Pagliaro.

But Pakistan says the problem is a complex one. "The issue is not that nothing has been done. Terrorism is a larger issue, said Pakistani Consul General Azam Mohammed. "These terrorists will be brought to book".

Thousands of Shiite Muslims in Pakistan called off protests and agreed to bury the 89 victims of the recent attack, after Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf launched a security operation to capture those responsible.

"We are not different; we are part of the protesters. The whole Pakistani nation is condemning this".

Hazaras in Australia are planning a nationwide walkout from schools and universities next week, calling on Australia to use their UN Security Council status to put more pressure on Islamabad and accept more asylum-seekers trying to escape the violence.

WATCH THIS STORY ON YOUTUBE:

Hazara

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

shame on your thoughts.

zavier - from melbourne , 4 months ago

this is our country as well dear and we will do whatever we want to do. go back to your own country as well thieves

mr

ifty - from vic, 4 months ago

if i was u marty i wouldnt talk what if Australia was in that condition where they were not accept by any other kind of people

Wahid Omid

Wahid Omid - from Dandenong, 4 months ago

Being racist is not much different from being a terrorist. how come someone who lives in a first world country and accesses all these media and news still demonstrates racist behaviors and is unaware of what is going on in this world?

Darkie

Darkie McMillan - from Southwest Coast of WA, 4 months ago

Marty and Once was,you are both so right.Thats what is wrong about letting these people come here to supposedly get away from their old lives,they still keep living in the past.If they are so concerned then protest back in their own country and not here in ours as they obviously still feel they are there.One reason why these countries will never have peace as they hate one another within their own bloody country.African countries are the same.

Persecuted

Greg - from Melbourne, 4 months ago

The Hazaras are among the most persecuted people on earth. Have some empathy and stop being a narrow-minded biggot. What are you doing on the SBS site anyway?

budvv

Marty - from Perth, 4 months ago

Who the hell are they protesting to here in Australia???? Go back to Pakistan and protest, somewhere where it might count.

hazara protest

oncewas - from bribie island, 4 months ago

who do they think they are demanding the australian government should do more. why don't they go back to pakistan and demonstrate there?

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.