Copenhagen: Riots continue

Police arrested 17 people for rioting tonight in Copenhagen, burning cars and trash cans in Nørrebro, Tingbjerg, Vesterbro and Valby. All together 14 cars and 20 containers were set aflame, and there were 14 cases of vandalism. Police want to keep five people under arrest.

Residents of a building in the Nørrebro district had to be evacuated since police and the fire brigade feared the fire will spread to the building.

According to Jakob Kristensen of the Copenhagen police the riots were not organized and the fire brigade were able to do their job and extinguish the fire. Kristensen says the riots do not have to do with the reprinting of the Muhammad cartoons, which were a cause for a smaller, peaceful demonstration of 200 Muslims next to the municipality. Police were out in massive forces and quieted down the riots.

There was rioting also elsewhere in Denmark. In the Århus suburb of Brabrand (where the terrorists were arrested yesterday), a city bus was stoned and needed a police escort to continue. In both Brabrand and Kalundborg fire brigades were stoned and prevented from extinguishing blazes.

In Nørrebro social worker Bjarne Feys suggests setting up a new youth-run club for half-criminal immigrants in the neighborhood. He the young immigrants are very frustrated about the police's stress strategy and react very irrationally. Today there's only one active club, Kvisten, in inner Nørrebro, but according to Bjarne Feys it's not big enough, or up to the task.

Mikkel Warming, in charge of social affairs at Copenhagen municipality, is positive about the idea to establish an immigrant youth center in the center of the Nørrebro melting pot. But integration consultant and author Mohammed Rafiq advises against it. He is afraid that those who support the suggestion have lost their judgment and that it will be misused by criminals to sell drugs and stolen good.

Such a center will interfere with integration, since no Danes would come there and instead he suggests regular sports such as football and swimming, where Danish children and youth also take part.

Sources: Berlingske Tidende, Ekstrabladet, Nyhedsavisen (Danish)

See also: Copenhagen: Riots caused by boredo, Copenhagen: Riots