SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minster Anthony Albanese on Monday (Jun 10) condemned vandalism of the US consulate in Sydney after the constructing was defaced in what native media stated seemed to be a pro-Palestinian protest.
The constructing within the northern suburbs of Australia’s largest metropolis was attacked and sprayed with paint by an individual carrying a small sledgehammer at round 3am native time on Monday, New South Wales police stated.
“I might simply say that individuals ought to have respectful political debate and discourse,” Albanese stated in a televised media convention from Canberra when requested concerning the incident.
“Measures akin to portray the US Consulate do nothing to advance the reason for those that have dedicated what’s after all against the law to break property,” he added.
9 home windows of the consulate have been broken and the constructing’s door was graffitied, police stated.
“CCTV has been sourced that reveals an individual carrying a darkish colored hoodie with their face obscured carrying what seems to be a small sledgehammer,” a police spokesperson advised Reuters by cellphone.
Images of the consulate on the web site of the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper confirmed inverted crimson triangles sprayed on the constructing’s entrance. The image is utilized by some pro-Palestinian activists, it reported.
The identical constructing was sprayed with graffiti in April, whereas the US consulate in Melbourne was graffitied by pro-Palestine activists in Could, based on the newspaper.
Lengthy a stalwart ally of Israel, Australia has grow to be more and more essential of its conduct in Gaza, the place an Australian assist employee was killed in an Israeli assault earlier this yr.
Final month, camps sprang up at universities in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and different Australian cities protesting Israel’s struggle in Gaza and claiming the Australian authorities has not carried out sufficient to push for peace.
