Five people have been arrested at anti-racism and anti-Islam rallies in Sydney, a day after violent clashes at similar protests in Melbourne. About 150 members of the Reclaim Australia group gathered in Sydney's Martin Place on Sunday morning, some wearing ancient Greek army costumes and others with Australian flags draped across their shoulders. Two blocks away, a loud counter-protest group waved banners saying 'Stand With Multiculturalism Against Racism' and 'No Racism, no Islamophobia'. Police kept the groups separated but one man was swooped on by officers after slipping into the anti-racism protest. The crowd became noisy and several people shouted 'Nazi' as he was led away. George Jameson, rallying with Reclaim Australia in a replica Spartan military outfit, said they weren't racists and had come together to stand up for freedom of speech. 'Both my parents are immigrants. They both came from the former Yugoslav Republic, how can I be a racist? I'm a first-gen Aussie,' he told AAP. 'I'm (here) for freedom of speech and democracy and respecting individualism, respecting someone's dignity and their human rights.' But at the other end of the street, protester Linc Saunders said some had different intentions. 'There are people amongst them who are involved with the violent far-right groups,' he told AAP. 'The fact that some of them spout online pro neo-Nazi propaganda, I think that just shows who we are up against here.' Similar protests in Melbourne on Saturday were much more heated, with at least four people arrested and dozens hit with capsicum spray by police who battled to keep the two sides apart. The arrests in Sydney took place during the protests and there haven't been any incidents at nearby hotels or on trains, said Assistant Commissioner Alan Clarke, who was in charge of police operations in the city. 'We're quite pleased with the way the day has gone,' he told reporters. 'Overall we had a reasonably good level of compliance with the protesters.' Two of those arrested are likely to be charged: a 40-year-old woman who allegedly assaulted police and a 57-year-old man accused of offensive behaviour. Three other men, two aged 19 and one 35, were arrested for breaching the peace and made to leave the protests. They haven't been charged. Mr Clarke wouldn't say with which group the arrested people were rallying. A 35-year-old man was hospitalised with minor head injuries and a 48-year-old man was treated for a minor facial cut at the scene. 'Those matters will be investigated', Mr Clarke said. Meanwhile two Rally Against Racism protesters have been issued with a summons for disorderly behaviour at Perth's Solidarity Park. One of the men was thrown on concrete and shouted 'I'm not resisting' as he was handcuffed by two police officers. People were also nearly trampled by horses as they went to the aid of their friends. It's not known what sparked the melee. One man was summonsed for disorderly conduct while another was summonsed for obstructing police, officers told AAP. Half a dozen move-on notices were also issued. The Rally Against Racism protesters were holding a counter-protest against the Reclaim Australia group, which had been non-violent up to that point. Earlier on Sunday, four Reclaim Australia protesters donned orange jumpsuits and kneeled at the hands of a masked man. The group was marched out alongside several women wearing burqas, linked together with chains. From the top of a hill, they faced towards Rally Against Racism protesters, who shouted 'Muslims are welcome, racists are not' and 'Nazi scum off our streets' through megaphones. One man was escorted away by police and given a move-on notice for crossing the police barrier. A man in a Guy Fawkes mask was also escorted out of the Reclaim Australia camp for stirring up trouble. The were about 400 people in each group, and protesters spent more than two hours trying to drown out each other with chants and speeches. Two dozen police officers on foot and horse maintained a human barrier between the groups. Similar rallies were held in Sydney, Canberra and Brisbane on Sunday after violent clashes between protesters in Melbourne on Saturday. - See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/top-stories/2015/07/19/three-arrested-at-sydney-race-rally.html#sthash.NcJoASBx.dpuf

• published: 19 Jul 2015
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