Broadcaster Alan Jones is facing an online backlash after suggesting on national television that “left-wing radical students” were behind the Boston Marathon bombings and that Australia should reconsider its intake of foreign university students in response.
Really, you just said that Alan Jones? I have no words…
In a segment on Channel Seven’s Sunrise on Wednesday morning, the controversial 2GB host said Boston was a student city home to prestigious institutions such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and suggested that students could be the culprits.
Controversial comments: Alan Jones appears on Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
That is despite US authorities saying they do not have any suspects in the case and they do not know who is responsible for the blasts. No organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack that killed three people and injured more than 175.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a conspiracy amongst students, left-wing radical students in Boston, and I think we have to think also very seriously here about our own student numbers,” Jones said on Sunrise.
“We’re very keen to have foreign students pay the way of universities in this country without a lot of discernment about who comes in. But I think the fact that we’ve been spared this kind of thing, touch wood, for so long highlights, as I said, the relentless work done by ASIO and all our police organisations.”
Alan Jones: “We’re very keen to have foreign students pay the way of universities in this country without a lot of discernment about who comes in.” Photo: Jim Rice
Former NSW treasurer Michael Costa, who was also on the segment, immediately responded that people shouldn’t “jump to conclusions yet about what’s behind all of this. Let the American authorities deal with it”.
“You know, America has got a history of domestic terrorism unrelated to the sort of broader jihadists’ terrorist movement and we don’t want to jump to conclusions,” Mr Costa said.
“But for Australia the lesson is clear. Complacency can’t be tolerated. We’ve got to support our authorities and we’ve got to ensure we’re vigilant.”
Jones responded that there were “a lot of things here that we can’t be told”.
“I think governments here have been very good in dealing with all of this and I think they will continue to be very good,” he said.
“This was a very sophisticated attack, this wasn’t the work of amateurs and there were several bombs designed to do damage in big numbers and I’m sure Australian authorities are alerted to all that.”
The online response to Jones’ comments was swift and damning:
The third person to die in the blasts was identified on Wednesday morning, Australian time, as a foreign student attending Boston University.
The Chinese Consulate in New York said the student was from China, but officials were not authorised to release the male victim’s name.
Boston University said on its website that the the victim, a graduate, was among a trio of students who had gone to watch the race at the finish line.
The controversy surrounding Alan Jones is the latest to dog the radio personality, who was lambasted last year for claiming that Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s late father had “died of shame” over her “lies” during a speech at a Liberal Party function. He later apologised for the comment, but not before 60 companies pulled their ads on 2GB.
The Australian Federation of International Students said Jones’ outrageous claims harmed the relationship between international students and the Australian community.
“For Alan Jones to paint such an inaccurate and presumptuous picture of international students in the mainstream media does the Australian international student body a huge disservice,” the organisation said in a statement.
“Putting forth these unsubstantiated claims will only do harm to the relationship between the international student body and Australians. We wholly reject the manner in which Alan Jones has portrayed international students in Australia.”
The federation said international students underwent a rigorous health and security check before they were issued with a visa for entry into Australia.
“‘The Department of Immigration and Citizenship conducts its own security screenings which we accept to be suitably appropriate,” the federation said.
“International students contribute immensely to Australian society in many ways – by volunteering their time in non-profit organisations, contributing to diversity in a university environment and sharing their cultures with Australia.”
“I think governments here have been very good in dealing with all of this and I think they will continue to be very good,” he said.
“This was a very sophisticated attack, this wasn’t the work of amateurs and there were several bombs designed to do damage in big numbers and I’m sure Australian authorities are alerted to all that.”
you said it... 