Sikh council nominee racially targeted in Oz
MELBOURNE: A Sikh man running for the city council in Australia has been racially targeted by a man in a truck shouting racial slurs at a life-sized cut-out made from one of his election placards, according to a media report.
Sunny Singh, a Port Augusta City Council nominee, said a social media video targeting his race is the first time he has experienced racism in the local community, ABC News reported.
He was attacked in a video posted on a national trucking Facebook page. The video shows a man in a truck directing racial slurs at a life-sized cut-out made from one of Singh’s election placards, which is eventually run over by the truck, the report said.
“I was a little upset and shocked because I’d never even seen this man before, never met him, I don’t know why he did it,” Singh was quoted as saying by the report. He said the Port Augusta community had rallied behind him. “This morning, I saw Facebook and I saw messages supporting me,” Singh said.
South Australian AttorneyGeneral Vicki Chapman has described the footage as “disturbing” and “on the face of it, racist conduct”.
“We are a state that has a very proud history of democracy. Our government is completely behind maintaining that and the right for people to stand for public office. I just want to say to other candidates in the local government elections, thank you for standing.” Port Augusta mayor Sam Johnson said he was shocked by the violence and racism in the video.