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| Danish Violence Linked to That in France, Lawmakers Say Mike Wendling Correspondent London (CNSNews.com) - Although local police dispute it, a governing coalition party in Denmark has linked recent violence there to the much more publicized rioting in France. According to media reports and police sources, groups of young immigrant men have burned stores and a school in Aarhus, Denmark's second largest city. The arson attacks started more than a week ago in the Rosenhoj area of the city. News of the attacks has been covered in the Danish press but only filtered out to the rest of the world through Internet blogs and websites. In a translation posted on the Viking Observer blog on Oct. 31, the Jyllands-Posten, the country's biggest Danish-language newspaper, reported that 30 to 40 youths rampaged through the area. "Rosenhoj Mall has several nights in a row been the scene of the worst riots in Aarhus for years," the paper reported. Several of the rioters quoted by the Jyllands-Posten said they were angry at cartoons of the prophet Mohammed that were printed by the newspaper. Unlike the situation in France, however, things in Denmark are calm now, according to Jurgen Ilum, chief constable of Aarhus police. Four people were arrested, three of whom were later released, Ilum said, and no injuries were reported. "These disturbances can't in any way be compared to what's going on in Paris," he said in a phone interview from Aarhus. However, the Danish People's Party (DPP), a right-wing bloc that shares power with the larger Liberal-Conservative party, has said that the violence in Aarhus was caused by the same conditions as the French riots. "A lot of the youths causing the trouble in Aarhus are alienated," party spokesman Karsten Holt said by phone Wednesday. "It's exactly the same thing as in Paris." The DPP said the area affected by the violence could become a breeding ground for radical Muslim organizations. Seven young men are currently under arrest in Denmark after anti-terror raids last week. "The riots in Aarhus have nothing to do with religious parties or organizations, (however) these people who are rioting will be an easy target for fundamentalists," Holt said. The DPP has called for anti-terror funds and greater use of closed-circuit television in Aarhus along with better education and employment opportunities, Holt said. The party's allegations have been taken so seriously by the country's political establishment that Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen commented on them Tuesday. "Let's just keep our definitions sorted out," Rasmussen told reporters, according to the English-language Copenhagen Post. "Denmark's anti-terrorism effort is to be used against organized terrorism, like we witnessed with the London underground bombings. Street riots and disturbances are not terrorism." The paper reported that Rasmussen went on to say that the situation in France could be called rioting but that the activities in Aarhus would be better described as pranks. The Danish People's Party and Rasmussen's Liberal-Conservatives agreed this week on a budget, including $24 million in anti-terror funds. The DPP says some of that money should be used to crack down on rioters. Riots and arsons also have been reported recently in Belgium, Germany, and in the city of Birmingham, England, but in those cases the incidents either have not been linked to the French riots, or the link is unclear. In Birmingham, clashes between black and Asian gangs were sparked by rumors of an alleged rape and resulted in the stabbing death of one man. There has been no repeat of the violence since the French disturbances gained steam. In France, rioting continued around the country for a 13th straight night Tuesday. Authorities said levels of violence were lower than on previous nights, although around 200 arrests were made and hundreds of cars were burned. Subscribe to the free CNSNews.com daily E-Brief. Send a Letter to the Editor about this article.
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