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| Firefights survey the burnt-out shell of a carpet showroom on High Road in Tottenham, north London on Sunday |
Lootings and arsons were reported in Brixton in the
south of London on Monday night after widespread unrest in the northern
areas of Tottenham and Enfield.
Police say riots in
Brixton were started by youth gangs who looted and torched a number of
retail stores. The looters attacked police officers and vandalized
police cars in other areas of London. About 50 teenagers smashed shops
at Oxford Circus in downtown London. The looters smashed everything on
their way without making any demands.
Police said 26
of its officers were hurt and three members of the public needed
treatment following the violence. A total of 55 arrests were made after
Saturday’s riots. Scotland Yard Commander Christine Jones described the
situation as “challenging with small pockets of violence, looting and
disorder breaking out in a number of boroughs”. Police launched a major
probe into the weekend’s violence with the participation of Scotland
Yard experts who investigate murders and other serious offences.
Riots
in London began after several hundred people gathered by a police
station in London on Saturday to protest against the death of a
29-year-old man, Mark Duggan, who was shot by police as he resisted a
pre-planned arrest on August 4th . Police suspect Duggan of being linked
to criminal groups. Given the explosive situation in London, experts
express doubts that British special services and police will be able to
guarantee security in a city which is hosting the Summer Olympic Games
in 2012.
The Guardian and The Times write that the recent
outbreak of violence is a result of police losing credibility with the
public and that it calls for law enforcement to revise and upgrade its
methods.
Apparently, there is more to it than just
police work. London, which is full of migrant workers, is gripped by
social problems. Tottenham is one of London’s poorest neighborhoods,
with the highest level of unemployment and a fairly high crime rate.
Young people in this neighborhood have few options to receive education.
90% of those who took part in Tottenham riots were dark-skinned
migrants from former British colonies.
The recent
riots testify to the failure of the British government’s social and
migration policies in recent years. Prime Minister David Cameron said in
February that the so-called “multiculturalism” policy in the UK has
suffered a fiasco because millions of migrants, mostly from Islamic
countries, had failed to integrate into the British society. Mr.Cameron
had this to say as he addressed the Munich Conference on Security:
"We have failed to provide a vision of society to which
they feel they want to belong. We have even tolerated these segregated
communities behaving in ways that run counter to our values. So when a
white person holds objectionable views – racism, for example – we
rightly condemn them. But when equally unacceptable views or practices
have come from someone who isn't white, we've been too cautious, frankly
even fearful, to stand up to them."
David Cameron
underscored that Islam and Islamic extremism stood separately. While no
one will question that, it’s clear that the British society is facing an
inter-ethnic crisis and that the authorities have to take effective
measures to resolve it. Otherwise, the recent riots will look
insignificant compared to an inter-ethnic and inter-religious crisis
that might break out on a national scale.
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