AUSTRALIA: Australians have been warned to stay away from beaches in three cities this weekend, with police saying they have evidence that racial violence has been planned.
Police urged people to avoid Cronulla Beach in Sydney's south, where racial violence first flared last Sunday, as well as eastern suburbs beaches which include Maroubra and Bondi, and beaches in regional coastal cities Wollongong and Newcastle.
"Our latest intelligence tells us that large numbers of people are planning to go to these areas on Sunday to cause riotous behaviour," New South Wales state police commissioner Ken Moroney said in a statement yesterday.
"I would urge people who do not live in these areas to stay away unless they have a good reason to be there."
Racist text messages and e- mails have been circulating calling for violence tomorrow. The media have reported talk of Lebanese youths calling themselves the "lions of Lebanon" coming from across the country to fight this weekend.
Sydney's racial violence erupted at Cronulla when thousands of people, some yelling racist chants, attacked people of Middle East appearance, saying they were defending their beach from Lebanese youth gangs. Lebanese and Muslim youths retaliated with two nights of violence in several different beachside suburbs.
A major police crackdown restored calm, but a Molotov cocktail was thrown at police, a stockpile of incendiary devices uncovered and 19 people arrested in Sydney on Thursday night.
Up to 2,000 police will be on the streets over the weekend. A command centre has been established on the same lines as if Sydney faced a "terrorist threat", said Assistant Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione.
"This is a long-term fight to ensure the hooligans, thugs and criminals who want to create trouble and disorder will not win," the New South Wales state premier, Morris Iemma, said.
Arab-Muslim leaders and and beachside communities have held "peace talks" and called for an end to the violence. Invitations have been sent to 28 Lebanese leaders to attend the launch of a surfboat at Cronulla today, while the Cronulla surf lifesavers' club has launched a drive for Lebanese membership.