THE NEXT HOLOCAUST

Ziauddin Sardar5th December 2005 http://www.newstatesman.com/200512050006 Islamophobia is not a uniquely British disease: acrossEurope, liberals openly express prejudice againstMuslims. Do new pogroms beckon? Ziauddin Sardarreports from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium andFrance.It's a bitterly cold night and the centre of Dortmundis deserted. On weekdays, says our taxi driver,everything closes by ten o'clock. It is not easy tofind a place to eat. Eventually, he drops us at theCava restaurant in Lindemannstrabe. Just one couplepunctuate the ultra-chic of this postmodern bistro. Wesit near them and order our food. Dortmund, Germany isthe first port of call on my journey through theindustrial heartland of northern Europe. After theterrorist attacks in London and the riots in theFrench suburbs, I want to assess the racial divide,the fear and the loathing that permeate so much of ourEuropean continent. Christoph Simmons is an insurance broker in hisforties; his girlfriend, Baneta Lisiecka, is a Polishimmigrant. They invite us to join them for a night outin their "green metropolis". We drive in Christoph'ssports car to Limette, "the only pub in Dortmund opentill 6am". Dortmund is a multicultural city integratedinto the global economy, explains Christoph; thisformer mining town is now a thriving base forhigh-tech research. "Our immigrant communities arewell integrated," he says. Greeks, Italians,Spaniards, Poles live in proverbial perfect harmonywith Germans. There is only one problem: the Turks -"they don't integrate". Baneta thinks they are "mostlycriminals" and she is afraid of them. Christoph alsosays: "They are conservative; their women cover theirheads. The Koran tells them to murder Christians." Hashe ever met a Turk, I ask. "No," he says. "They sticktogether and never come into our pubs." I talk toother people in Limette. Jasmine, a Catholic fromCorsica, sums up the overall feeling. "I don't likeTurks. I don't know why. I just don't like them." And yet I discover that these open manifestations ofracism do not seem to be reciprocated by German Turks.At the Orhan Narghile Grill Cafe, in the Turkish partof Dortmund, I meet Suniye Ozdemir, a single motherborn in Germany. "I don't know," she says with genuineamazement, "why the Germans hate us so much. I don'tknow why they are scared of the Turkish people. Maybethey're jealous. May-be they're afraid we will stealtheir jobs." She introduces me to a group of girlsfrom the Helmholtz Grammar School. Aged between 16 and18, these girls are confident and articulate, and theyspeak good English. They want to become professionalsand to succeed. Gulsum, who wears a hijab, says theyexperience racism every day - at school from theirteachers, on the bus, on the streets. Her friend, whodoes not wear a hijab, says: "We were born in Germanyand we are Germans. We stick together for protection,to avoid hostility." Throughout my journey, from Germany to theNetherlands, onwards to Belgium and finally intoFrance - the object of much recent attention - I meetpeople all too ready to describe Muslims in thecolours of darkness. Islamophobia is not a Britishdisease: it is a common, if diverse, Europeanphenomenon. It is the singular rock against which thetide of European liberalism crashes. There are common themes but also subtle differences inthe way each nation's history influences its people'spresent attitude to immigrant communities. Much ofthis is rooted in the various colonial histories.Germany came late to nationalism and colonialism, andcaught a bad case of both. In the 1880s it scrambledbriefly and brutally for colonies to prove itsimportance as a nation. The roots of its ethnicproblems lie deeper, however, in its history andcultural psyche. Many of the erstwhile principalitiesand tiny statelets that formed Germany were part ofCharlemagne's Holy Roman Empire, a unity forged undersiege and in reaction to the perceived threat ofMuslim civilisation. The Germans embraced the Crusadeswith great vigour: the first, infamously, commenced athome with pogroms against the Jews. The crusadingmotif is as important to the German self-image as itever was; the hatred of Turks I heard was oftenexpressed in crusading language - even if couched inliberal terms. Germany's present ethnic-minority population is thelegacy of its wartime military alliance with Turkey.Under the gastarbeiter ("guest worker") policy, theTurks were good enough to be imported en masse torebuild war-torn Germany but not good enough to begiven German nationality. They existed outside theambit of German identity. It was the continuation ofracial purity in another form. Now that they areissued with national identity cards, now that Germanyhas liberalised, is the concept of what it is to beGerman, I wondered, still a matter of ein Volk - onepeople, the Nazi notion of racial purity? "I am afraid it is," says Wolfram Richter, professorof economics at the University of Dortmund. There aremany factors why the Turks are hated, Richter says. Hecites social factors such as Turks shopping only inTurkish shops, cultural factors such as their womencovering themselves, language problems such as theolder generation of Turks still not speaking German.They are seen as disloyal. Then there is the "Anatoliabride syndrome": German Turks tend to go back toAnatolia to get married and bring their wives toGermany. But the overall factor in the fear andloathing of Turks, Richter says, is old-fashionedracism. "I am afraid we have not learned from ourhistory. My main fear is that what we did to Jews wemay now do to Muslims. The next holocaust would beagainst Muslims." Across the border into the Netherlands and toEindhoven, a lively cultural city with a youngpopulation, where fear of Muslims is equally evident.There are fewer than 5,000 Muslims in Eindhoven andthey are all hidden away in the Woensel district. Buttry to get a taxi driver to take you there. Kim dePeuyssenaece, our driver, is adamant: "It's adangerous area where you could get killed," she says.She has a Moroccan boyfriend, whose picture shedisplays on her mobile phone, yet she dismissesMoroccans as "mostly criminals" who are "ruining ourcountry". She drops us in front of a Moroccan bar nextto the new, clinically structured red-light district,a kind of John Lewis-meets-porn. Inside the Safrak Barand Cafe, the atmosphere is thick with smoke. Old mensit playing backgammon, chequers and dominoes. "We arenot part of the Dutch community," says the bar owner,a tall, aggressive Moroccan who does not want to givehis name. "They don't treat us with respect anddignity. They think we're separate. So we areseparate." That the Dutch see Muslims as a separate community isnot all that surprising. Holland has a brutal colonialhistory just as long as Britain's, and the jewel inits crown was the most populous Muslim nation onearth: Indonesia. The Islamist insurgency in Aceh is alegacy of the people's long war with the Dutch, a warthe colonisers never won and never ended. Slavery andcompulsory labour on Dutch plantations underpinned astrict system of separating the rulers from those theyruled. The Dutch were interested in categorising andneatly arranging the Otherness of those they ruled,the better to maintain their separateness anddependence. Colonial policy now reverberates at home. In another part of Eindhoven we meet Jamal Tushi, anIT consultant in his thirties. "They treat us likecolonial subjects," he says. "For them, all Muslimsare terrorists." Tushi was born and bred in Eindhovenand speaks perfect Dutch, yet finds it hard to getwork. "If you are a young Moroccan, forget the idea ofgetting a job," he says. During job interviews, themuch-acclaimed Dutch liberalism evaporates. "They wantto know what kind of Muslim you are. Do you pray? Doyou go to the mosque?" Dutch liberalism was meant only for the Dutch. Todayit extends to prostitution and drugs, but not toMuslim immigrants. It's like the "ethical policy"Holland developed for its colonies. The policy wasabout Dutch superiority; it had little to do with thereality of life for the people they ruled, and madelittle difference to their condition. The coloniesserved the metropolis, regardless of how they werespoken of and discussed. The language of ethics wasalways about the colonising "Us" and not the colonised"Them", just as all discussion about multiculturalismin Holland is at base about what kind of country "We"are, now that we have let "Them" in. Inclusion, thenor now, was not the point. Dutch liberalism is abouthow good and open "We" are - not an open negotiationabout what liberalism means to and for minoritycommunities. We take the train to Antwerp. Belgium is aninteresting case of multiculturalism, split as it isbetween the Dutch/Flemish-speaking Flemings andFrench-speaking Walloons. There is also a religiousdivide, between Catholics and Protestants. In 1994 arevised constitution introduced devolution in anattempt to tackle the long-standing division betweenthe communities, recognising three provinces andlanguage groups. However, dealing with its ownfractures of multiculturalism does not mean opening upto immigrant minority communities. In downtown Antwerp we come across Noor Huda and herfriend Fatimah Zanuti. Huda, in her early twenties, isa medical technician at a hospital in the city."Multiculturalism in Belgium is meant for theBelgians," she says. "We are not considered Belgian."Huda was born in Antwerp, as were her parents. "Butbeing a third-generation Belgian is not relevant. Weare still colonial subjects." Racism and hatred ofMuslims are so endemic in Belgium, she says, that "youhave to constantly guard what you say. We are alwaysafraid to speak our mind. You do not have the right tosay what you want to say." The barriers in Belgium, as elsewhere in Europe, areborn of colonial history and attitudes. And Belgiumhas one of the most vicious and inhuman of allcolonial histories. Conrad's Heart of Darkness and itspicture of Kurtz in his stockade surrounded by severedheads is based on reality, not the allegory ormetaphor of fiction. In Belgian colonies such as theCongo, the natives were a problem - and the problemwas that they were not working hard enough, notproducing enough rubber for the metropolis. So armedpolice would invade villages, round up women andchildren, imprison them, and murder groups of themuntil the required amount of rubber had been deliveredby the men. Armed police are much in evidence at the policestation in Lange Nieuwstraat. An officer wastes notime in pointing out that Muslims are a problem. "It'sa one-way street," he says. "We are waiting for themto come towards us the way they should and we wantthem to." But should you not also be moving towardsthem, I ask. "No," he replies without hesitation. "Weare not a problem. Islam is the problem. Anything ispossible where Islam is concerned." He expects a riotto take place, sooner or later. A riot, or rather a series of riots, did take place inLille, the last stop on our journey. A northernindustrial town in France, Lille experienced some ofthe worst of the recent unrest. Emmanuel Peronne, afashion designer from the suburb of Roubaix, has nodoubt what caused the riots. "It's economic injusticeand inequalities that successive generations ofMoroccan and Algerian Muslims have suffered inemployment, housing and educational opportunities, aswell as downright racism at the hands of Frenchsociety," he says. "They have no means to survive. Itis all about survival." Roubaix, scene of the mostviolent uprising, is a dilapidated holding area. "Theycall us immigres," says an angry halal butcher. "Butwe were born here. We have no standing in the idealsof 'liberte, egalite, fraternite'." Indeed. The ethos of the French revolution was nevermeant to be pluralistic. Its essential proposition wasbased on totalitarian uniformity - the scourge itunleashed as the ideological underpinning of modernityand European nationalism. It was also the bedrock ofFrench colonialism, which created parallel universes:the superior French and the inferior others.Assimilation into Frenchness and indirect rule overdifference were the twin tracks of French colonialism.So, officially, because France recognises onlyFrenchness, it claims to be colour-blind andnon-racist, yet it is both highly racist and attunedto a colour bar. In Lille as much as in Paris and elsewhere in France,there is a neat parallel that demonstrates thecontinuity of the colonial ethic. In North Africa,where most of the French immigrants come from, themedinas, ancient cities with a Muslim culture, wereencircled in their separateness. The medinas were seenas chaotic, confused and not fit for modernity - thephysical representation of what the French thought ofthe medinas' inhabitants and their culture. Aroundthese old indigestible cores were built modern citieson the French model, where the colonisers lived andfrom which they dominated. Today, Lille has its owntraditional core, a bounded city whose limits arejealously guarded. Around this inviolate core circlethe depressing banlieues: modern slums of the grey,inhospitable and inhuman hutches built to house theindigestible population of migrant workers. Therationale of the colony is neatly reversed and broughthome to the metropolis. It is a metaphor for all thathas not changed. Throughout our journey, we were surprised at howopenly prejudiced people were against Muslims. Eachcountry has its own extreme-right party, led byfigures such as Jean-Marie Le Pen in France or PimFortuyn, who was assassinated in Holland in 2002. InBelgium, the draconian right is represented by theVlaams Blok, a Flemish nationalist party founded in1977. Philippe Van der Sande, its spokesman inAntwerp, declares that "immigrants do not adapt. Theydon't want to learn the language. They are notinterested in our culture but just winning easymoney." Well, we would expect him to say that. Yet thepeople we spoke to were ordinary citizens who sawthemselves as liberals and enlightened individuals. European liberalism today may be a consequence ofdecolo-nisation. But it seems more like a denial ofuncomfortable, unanalysed traits than a genuineovercoming of the past. Europe is post-colonial butambivalent. Even among individuals with more relaxedattitudes to interracial relationships, racism isunashamed and upfront. In practice, now as in thepast, such relationships make little differencebecause they require subordination of the partner whois from an ethnic minority. Indeed, they can work toincrease the sense of superiority and separation. Itmeans less emphasis on race, but more on culture asthe quintessential dividing line. Everywhere I went, the thought that the nation mightchange in the process of accommodating its minoritieswas conspicuous by its absence. Minorities are fine asmenial workers, a subordinate class. It is whenminorities seek to be upwardly mobile, to live themodern liberal dispensation in their own, distinctiveway as self-assured, equal members of the nationaldebate - and that was the desire of all the youngMuslims I met - that the problems start and latentprejudice comes to the fore. The central mosque in Lille is located in the Wazemmesarea. It is a rather unremarkable structure: threehouses seem to have been knocked together and a dwarfdome and minaret added rather crudely. The mosque alsoserves as the first Muslim school in France. It isnamed after Averroes, the great 12th-century Spanishrationalist philosopher and humanist. It is a pitythat Europe appropriated his rationalism, butjettisoned his pluralistic humanism. Ibn Rushd, to usehis Muslim name, would demand that the establishedorder that calls itself honourable and ethical,liberal and tolerant, offer an appropriate explanationto those whom it continues to discriminate against,dehumanise and demean.

Blair denies bombing plot knowledge
Tuesday 29 November 2005, 3:39 Makka Time, 0:39 GMT

Related:
Aljazeera demands answers from Blair
US,UK asked to explain Jazeera memo
Aljazeera probes Bush 'bombing' memo

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has denied receiving any details of a reported US proposal to bomb Aljazeera.
The Daily Mirror newspaper reported last week that a secret British government memo said Blair had talked US President George Bush out of bombing the Arab broadcaster's Doha headquarters in April 2004.
The White House has dismissed the report as "outlandish", while Blair's office has so far refused to comment.
Blair was asked in a written question to parliament made public on Monday "what information he received on action that the United States administration proposed to take against the Aljazeera television channel?"
In a written response, Blair gave the one-word answer "none".
The question, published on the parliament website, was proposed for discussion by lawmaker Adam Price, of the Welsh party Plaid Cymru.
A spokeswoman for Blair's Downing Street office made no further comment on the prime minister's response.
Aljazeera's quest
At a London news conference late on Monday, Daily Mirror's associate editor Kevin Maguire said he did not believe the reported threat against Aljazeera was a joke.
Aljazeera chief Waddah Khanfarwants an explanation from Blair"It is clear from the language used in the memo and its context that Tony Blair took it seriously and counselled against it. It certainly wasn't a joke," he said.
The paper quoted an unnamed government official as suggesting Bush's threat was a joke, but had another unidentified source saying the US president was serious.
Aljazeera's general manager Waddah Khanfar, who flew to London last week to seek an explanation about the memo, said he was unsure what to believe, but Aljazeera would not abandon the story until it got an answer.
"I want not to believe it," he said.
Britain's attorney-general has warned other media that they can be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act if they reveal further details of the memo.
Britain is prosecuting a civil servant and a parliamentarian's aide for leaking the secret document.
The Mirror's report was picked up by the world's media and prompted Aljazeera to demand clarification from the US and Britain.

IUML demands Neli probe report

GUWAHATI, Nov 27: Assam unit of the Indian Union of Muslim League (IUML) has demanded immediate release of the report of the Tiwari Commission which probed into the Neli carnage that had taken place in 1983. A resolution in this regard was adopted in the executive meeting of the party here today, said MU Mandal, general secretary of Assam IUML, while talking to some journalist here
The party would contest 45 constituencies in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the State, he said. National president of the party, GM Banatwala and its general secretary and Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahmed were scheduled to arrive in Guwahati to asses the party’s organizational status in the first week of December, he added. The party has also decided to hold conventions in district level from December 1 to strengthen its organizational base among the masses.

“The 21st century Nazis”


Following up developments in Iraq under the occupation, you all must be familiar with a term that has repeatedly appeared on news reports during the past two years: The Triangle of Death, the area south of the Iraqi capital, which constitutes the three towns of Yosfiya, Mahmoodiya and Latifiya, stated an editorial by Sabah Ali from Brussels Tribunal.

Contrary to how this area; The Triangle of Death or the Death Triangle has been portrayed in mainstream media, it has nothing to do with death- It is located in one of the greenest, most beautiful and peaceful areas of Iraq, with fruit orchards,vegetable farms where the Tigris and the Euphrates and the rural areas that engulf hundreds of small villages. The Area south of Baghdad used to be one of the most important industrial areas in the war torn country,but it is now branded Triangle of Death by the occupying government, Washington, due to the hideous amount of attacks the three countries witnessed since the war was launched in March 2003.
The region, inhabited by a mixture of Shia and Sunni tribes, as almost everywhere else in Iraq, has become a death zone for many Iraqis, including members of the security services, the invading troops, and other workers including members of humanitarian organisations.


Before the occupation the region never witnessed any sectarian tensions whatsoever. But since the invading forces arrived in the country, massive military operations were regularly took place there, as well as horrible stories of arrests, torture, and mass killing, not only by the American troops, but also by the Iraqi police and Army units.

Yosfiya, which lies almost 30 kilometers south of the Iraqi capital, houses the American military base, and prison where all Iraqi detainees are usually kept, to be moved later into bigger prisons like Abu Ghraib or Camp Bucca in Um Qasr (near Basra).

The writer described mountains of garbage thrown on both sides of the highway. Beyond that is the car graveyard, where destroyed vehicles are gathered to be sold for the cheapest price.

The way to Yosfiya, which used to take 15 minutes, takes now at least 1.30 hour.
“The driver said it was impossible to reach Qaraghool village as it is now besieged by the Iraqi and American troops for 3 months”.

"This is the point", we objected, "We want to see how the villagers are surviving there"

"Not today please, trust me you cannot go today" he said.

“Our first stop was Nasser Shneiter village, on the eastern side. This is no more than 14 houses of farmers from one family: Nasser, a Shia family from Beni Saad tribe. On the dusty side way, a deserted house was destroyed, the walls split, the windows smashed, the okras left to dry un plucked, so are the cotton trees. The driver explained that the house was raided, bombed by sound bombs, two men were arrested, one of them, Nektal Rahman Adaay was killed during the arrest. The families, 12, are now living with relatives”.

Nothing could be seen or heard except dogs’ barking.

The Iraqi police Special Forces, Al-Hussein Brigades, came at dawn, in some 20 pick ups- They were hit from a place behind the Yosfiya Water Project. Tens of them were killed and their cars were burnt in a battle that went on for 3 hours.

Same day, more forces, accompanied by the American troops and helicopters, raided the houses, killed and arrested the men, humiliated the families, killed the cows and chicken, destroyed the yards, and set the village on fire.

"They dragged one of the men Abbass Oeid, more than 70 years, and beat him to death. Two other man, were arrested,
Karim Motar, 50, and Riyadh Talab Jabr, 20. Their bodies were found three days later in Baghdad. They put police uniform on Karim’s body. Riyadh was naked. Both were savagely tortured, their bones, backs, and arms were smashed".

"They believed that the village was colluding with the resistance".

But Ali Nasser, another man from the village, denies the allegations.

"Some of them were not killed, they managed to run away, they can testify about what happened, actually they hid in our houses and fought from there, we gave them protection, some families served them tea and bread. They say that
the Sunnis are fighting them, we are Shia, so why they burnt our village?"

"I do not know, that is why I ask the government to come here and investigate. We have done nothing wrong, never hurt any body or broken any law. We were punished for a crime that we did not do. We were in the middle of the fire, this is our only fault"

"I want the government to hear my question and answer me: why were we treated like this? The police brigades broke even the electricity converters, we do not have power for 40 days, of course water pumps do not operate and the plants are all dead. Our animals were killed, our women humiliated."

"They ask the women where did you hide the men, they grabbed the children from their hair and throw them to the ground. Riyadh’s mother was crying and begging them to leave her son; they hit her with the gun’s end, they smashed his head with a brick in front of her eyes, now she is dying. When his body was found it was skinned… Abbass was so told that he could not even walk how he would be a terrorist!! He was beaten to death on the spot and his body was thrown in the drainage. When they searched the houses they did not find any indication that any of them had any thing to do with terrorism or weapons, so why? The government is working on turning every body against it. It is encouraging ordinary people to resist by treating them so savagely. They have no mercy. We have nothing left now, nothing."

Ali went to the police to complain. But the police accused the villagers of slaughtering the policemen.

-"I tried to save something, but I could not, they would not let me. They came in four helicopters and surrounded the whole area. They put the gun on my head and asked where the Mujahedeen are. They destroyed everything, even my medicines. They said you help the Mujahedeen with those medicines, and destroyed them. Troops from the police Scorpion brigade were hit in the area the day before, and they believed that we knew about the Mujahedeen ".

Washington’s response to the justified uprising against the illegal occupation in Iraq has been to unleash a wave of bloody operations, with helicopter gunships, jets, tanks and heavily armed soldiers inside the and outside the so-called Death Triangle, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi men, women and children- Homes, factories and mosques have been destroyed by the merciless occupation.

Some defend Bush’s admin against accusations that it’s been acting as a fascist regime- But numerous analysts have unveiled Washington’s attempt to seize control of the Iraqi oil and implement its long-term agenda of redrawing the Middle East map in a way that serves the American and probably the Israeli interests in the region, and which America believes and had made clear in many occasions it won’t be sustained except through military “terror”, according to World Socialist Web Site.

As resistance to the invading troops intensifies and grows bolder, the occupying power responds with ever-greater violence and bloodshed- Washington has already started using methods the Nazis used to suppress the resistance movements in occupied Europe during World War II.

French Unrest Sends Shockwaves Across Europe
November 8, 2005 – The seemingly unabating unrest across France has sent shockwaves across Europe, with similar, though limited, incidents reported in several European countries.
Hundreds of Muslim and non-Muslim immigrants took to the streets of Amsterdam on Monday, November 7, to protest their deteriorating living conditions.
The protestors called on the Dutch government to change its policy towards immigrants, both legal or illegal.
The French government declared Tuesday a state of emergency in riot-hit parts in order to combat the worst outbreak of urban unrest since the May 1968 student revolt.
Nearly two weeks of rioting in the country's high-immigration suburbs has left more than 6,000 cars burned, public and private property destroyed, tens of policemen injured and one civilian death.
The deaths 10 days ago of two youths fleeing police ignited pent up frustrations among young men, many of them of North and black African origin, at racism, unemployment, their marginal place in French society and their treatment by the police.
Prodi has warned that an explosion of urban violence in Italy was "only a matter of time" as "we have the worst suburbs in Europe."
Security agencies across Belgium have been placed on high alert after Molotov cocktail were thrown Monday at two police cars in a Brussels district.
Also Monday, a police car in downtown Brussels was also put afire.
In another Brussels suburb, policemen exchanged fire with immigrants after security men tried to force a young immigrant to wash a car he had urinated.
Police forces were unusually heavily deployed in Brussels and high-immigration suburbs as a precautionary measure.
Many policemen have cancelled their weekly vacations and reported to their stations in anticipation of any emergencies.
Belgians fear a potential spillover of the French unrest into their country.
Yet, a provincial interior minister ruled out a repeat of the French scenario in Belgium, arguing that living standards were far better than those in France.
He advised the French to provide career opportunities for the young immigrants to bring riots to a peaceful end and achieve integration.
Many politicians and observers across Europe warned that the French unrest was a wakeup call for their own countries.
"France is not alone", Trevor Phillips, head of Britain's Commission for Racial Equality, wrote in The Observer newspaper.
"Everywhere, smugness about the state of race relations is being punctured," he said.
A prominent French anti-globalization activist blamed the worsening urban unrest on failed government's integration policies as well as the social and economic marginalization of immigrants.
"Riots have nothing to do with Muslims, Arabs or African immigrants as propagated by the media," Jose Bove said.
"The unrest has its roots in decade-old failed social policies to improve the situation in France's poor suburbs."
The government declared Tuesday a state of emergency in riot-hit parts in order to combat the worst outbreak of urban unrest since the May 1968 student revolt.
Meeting in crisis session under the chairmanship of President Jacques Chirac, the cabinet invoked a 50 year-old law originally drawn up at the start of the Algerian war which permits the declaration of curfews, house-searches and a ban on public meetings.
The measure will come into effect at midnight after the government has issued a decree setting out the geographical limits for the state of emergency.
Nearly two weeks of rioting in the country's high-immigration suburbs has left more than 6,000 cars burned, public and private property destroyed, tens of policemen injured and one civilian death.
More than 1,500 people -- mainly Arab and black youngsters -- have been detained.
The deaths 10 days ago of two youths fleeing police ignited pent up frustrations among young men, many of them of North and black African origin, at racism, unemployment, their marginal place in French society and their treatment by the police.
Bove, a farmer and unionist, blamed the unrest on social and economic marginalization of the African and Muslim immigrants in the European country.
"There will be no solution to the crisis in the near future unless the government changes its policies toward marginalized immigrants," he added.
The activist urged the French parliament to debate the root causes of crisis, describing the unrest as "a revolution by desperate youths who have lost all hopes."
Muslim thinker Tareq Ramadan blamed the entire political class in France for the riots, saying the political class has been "blind" to what has been happening in the suburbs, with their unemployed youth of Arab and African origin and bleak high-rises.
Bove also asked Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy to apologize for his anti-immigrant remarks.
The interior minister has been under fire for his "zero-tolerance" policy, which caused violence in the areas.
The French Communist Party, the Greens and the Socialist Party have joined forces, demanding the sacking of Sarkozy over his handling of the crisis.
He has been accused of stoking passions by calling troublemakers "racaille" or rabble, and saying that crime-ridden areas need to be "cleaned with a power-hose."
"Our French neighbors are giving us the loudest alarm call they can. Wake up, everybody."
Italy's main opposition leader Romano Prodi warned over the weekend that an explosion of urban violence in Italy was "only a matter of time" as "we have the worst suburbs in Europe."
Prodi, a former European Commission president, said: "Our suburbs are a human tragedy, and if we don't take serious action on social and housing issues we will have many scenes like Paris."
Bremen-based sociologist Lorenz Boellinger fears violence could flare up quickly in Germany.
"There is already an explosive mix which could lead to riots," he told Agence France-Presse
Boellinger called on German authorities to provide more help for immigrant families by giving them advice on life in Germany and setting up youth centers and youth clubs in immigrant areas.
Late Sunday, five cars were set ablaze in Berlin and six in the western city of Bremen.