Student attack: Officials assure Africans

MEA officials, along with second secretary, immigration, Zambian high commission, Mwitumwa Namunda Lubinda, and Tanzanian high commissioner to India John W.H. Kijazi flew from New Delhi to Bengaluru on Friday afternoon. Mr Mwitumwa left to meet the African students at the Acharya Institute in Hesaraghatta and the rest of the officials met with home minister G. Parameshwar along with IG-DGP Om Prakash and the city police commissioner N.S. Megharikh, who submitted the report. Mr Mwitumwa said, “The students expressed concerns regarding security. I will take these concerns in the meeting with the MEA and the state government authorities.”

Even as MEA officials and the diplomat ruled out racism and blamed the media for giving it a racist colour, the African students believed that they understood their concerns and would work on them diplomatically.

Mr Mwitumwa later joined the cop top brass and other MEA officials and diplomat at the city police commissioner’s office after he brought a bus load of African student representatives from Hesaraghatta. All of them were representatives and student leaders from different countries in Africa. A closed door discussion was held between the MEA officials, IG-DGP, city police commissioner and the African student representatives. The student leaders addressed their safety concerns, the local versus Africans animosity and other related grievances with the senior police officers in the presence of MEA officials. Even as MEA officials and the diplomat ruled out racism in the entire incident and blamed the media for giving it a colour of racism, the African student representatives believed that they understood their concerns and will work on them diplomatically.

“I don’t want to delve too much into racism. You media people are too much interested in that. We are not here to discuss the issue of racism,” said John W.H. Kijazi, Tanzanian Ambassador. The ambassador had earlier stated from Delhi that “The girl was attacked because she was black like the guy who caused the accident.” Mr. Kijazi went on to say “We believe that the local communities (including the African lots) can live in harmony. We must look at the future and build confidence on both sides. We understand that there friction between communities exist everywhere and we need to work together to institute a system where locals and students can interact more often. If we don’t do that, the friction will continue,” he added. He also had a message to the African community “Follow the law of the land. Live in harmony with its people. And respect the leadership of local people,” Mr. Kijasi told reporters. Box: Meanwhile, Home Minister Parameshwar said “We will hold peace committee meetings involving locals and the African community and all the colleges will have to submit the details of all the foreign students studying there.”