U.K Riots: Sleepwalking to segregation

[KALKI]

2001 Bradford riots

The Bradford Riots were a brief period of violent rioting which began on 7 July 2001, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They occurred as a result of heightened tension between the large and growing British Asian communities and the city's white majority, escalated by confrontation between the Anti-Nazi League and far right groups such as the British National Party and the National Front.
Similar ethnic riots had occurred earlier in other parts of Northern England, such as Oldham in May and Burnley in June.

Bradford is historically a working class city. Since its rapid growth in the 19th century, there have been several significant waves of immigration, notably Irish (19th century), Poles (1940s–50s) and South Asian people. At the time of the riot, Bradford had the second largest population of South Asians of any UK city, with approximately 68,000 Pakistanis, 12,500 Indians, 5,000 Bangladeshis and 3,000 other Asians. However, the majority of people in the city were white (Ethnicity: 78.3% White, and 19.1% S.Asian according to the 2001 census).

While the South Asian population in Bradford had grown, and there were areas which were mainly white and areas which were mainly South Asian, it is disputed whether segregation had grown over time, whether the phenomenon of white flight applies to Bradford, and whether one can accurately talk of ghettos in Bradford.[5] At the time of the riot, Bradford Moor was 67% South Asian,[6] Toller was 64% South Asian.[7] Of the 17,512 people of Manningham 13,049 (74.5%) were South Asian.[8] Tong was 93 percent white,[9] and Wibsey was 91 percent white.

On 22–24 June, there were riots in Burnley; two months previously, there had been riots in Oldham. Tensions rose after the National Front attempted to organise a march in the city which was banned by Home Secretary David Blunkett under the Public Order Act 1986. The Anti Nazi League organised a rally in Centenary Square in the centre of the city, which was allowed to proceed. During the course of the rally, held on Saturday 7 July, a rumour was spread by some of the marchers that National Front sympathisers were gathering at a pub in the centre of Bradford. A confrontation then occurred outside the pub in the city centre during which an Asian man was stabbed. According to the appeal court, this incident almost certainly triggered the riot.
However, subsequent research amongst eyewitnesses contests this view with no single event being identifiable as a flashpoint.

Riots
The riot was estimated to have involved 1,000 youths.
On the nights of 8 and 9 July 2001, groups of between thirty and a hundred white youths attacked police and Asian-owned businesses, in the Ravenscliffe and Holmewood areas.[3] Initially there were 500 police being involved, but later reinforcements increased this to almost 1,000.
What began as a riot turned into an ethnic-related disturbance, with targeting of businesses and cars, along with numerous attacks on shops and property. A notable point of the rioting was the firebombing of Manningham Labour Club, at the time a recreational centre. A 48-year-old Asian businessman was jailed for twelve years for the arson attack.

The club reopened in the spring of 2006 on a different site, approximately one and a half miles away, on Bullroyd Lane, Four Lane Ends (The original site has now been redeveloped into a health and community centre and chemist). The most expensive act of the riot was the arson attack of a BMW dealership, which had previously been attacked in a 1995 disturbance.

Aftermath
More than 300 police officers were hurt during the riot. There were 297 arrests in total; 187 people were charged with the offence of riot, 45 with violent disorder and 200 jail sentences totalling 604 years were handed down.
The last rioter was sentenced six-and-a-half years after the events. The number of convictions for riot was unprecedented in English legal history; the next highest amount was five for an investigation in London. The estimated damage was put at £7 million. The heaviest sentence handed out in connection with the riots was that of the aforementioned Mohammed Ilyas, a 48-year-old businessman, who was found guilty of arson and being reckless as to whether life was endangered. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 3 July 2003.

The Ouseley Report released 7 March 2005 recommended a "people's programme" to bring harmony to the city. The government subsequently commissioned the Cantle report which made 67 recommendations. In 2006 Channel 4 produced a non-fictional drama, Bradford Riots, directed by Neil Biswas. The film tells the story of 2001 riots from the perspective of an Asian family.

2001 Oldham riots

The 2001 Oldham riots were a brief period of violent rioting which occurred in Oldham, a town in Greater Manchester, England, in May 2001. They were the worst ethnically-motivated riots in the United Kingdom since 1985, briefly eclipsing the sectarian violence seen in Northern Ireland. The Oldham Riots were the first of a series of major riots during summer 2001, which saw similar ethnic conflicts follow in Bradford, Leeds and Burnley.

The riots followed a long period of ethnic tensions and attacks in Oldham, occurring particularly between groups of the local white and South Asian communities.

The most violent rioting occurred in the Glodwick area of the town which is a multi-ethnic district of Oldham and home to a large community of Pakistani people.

The racial riots took place throughout Oldham and a small part of neighbouring Chadderton, peaking on Saturday, 26 May 2001, and continuing on Sunday 27, and Monday, 28 May 2001. They were particularly intensive in Glodwick, an area to the south-east of Oldham town centre. They were highly violent and led to the use of petrol bombs, bricks, bottles and other such projectiles by up to five-hundred Asian youths as they battled against lines of riot police.[3] At least 20 people were injured in the riots, including fifteen officers, and 37 people were arrested. Other parts of Oldham such as Coppice and Westwood were also involved.

Asians - including those of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian heritage - make up 11% of Oldham's population, but constitute around 2% of the workforce at the local council, the town's biggest employer. The rate of mixed race marriage in the town is less than 1%. Most Oldham primary schools are single race, and many secondaries are 99% white or 99% Asian.[5]

On Saturday 26 May, the Live and Let Live pub, which was occupied at the time, was pelted with bricks, stones and petrol bombs. Several cars were set ablaze including an occupied police van. Lines of riot police were drafted in to combat the spiralling violence. Several officers were injured, and 32 police vehicles were damaged, but despite the level of violence and arson, there were no fatalities.

On 28 May 2001, the headquarters of the local newspaper, the Oldham Evening Chronicle, was attacked. A large group of Asian rioters threw a petrol bomb into the premises and smashed three plate-glass windows.

Just weeks after the riots, the then Deputy-Mayor of Oldham, Riaz Ahmad, became a victim of arson when someone threw a petrol bomb at his house in Chadderton, setting it ablaze. Mr. Ahmad, his wife and four children were all in the house sleeping at the time, but all escaped without any injuries.

The disturbances received extensive coverage from local, national and international media, including the BBC and other television networks and several tabloids and broadsheets.

2001 Harehills riot

The Harehills riot took place in the multi-ethnic Leeds district of Harehills (West Yorkshire, England) in 2001. The riot occurred after the wrongful arrest of an Asian man by the West Yorkshire Police which was alleged to have been heavy-handed.[1] More than 100 Asian, White, and Black youths were together involved in the six-hour-long rioting against the police.

The West Yorkshire Police later stated that any attempt to legitimise criminal behaviour by saying it is connected with racial tension or the style of policing is just an excuse for young males committing crime on the streets. It was the first rioting in Leeds since the Hyde Park riots of 1995. The Police Officer involved in the alleged wrongful arrest was questioned, and later cleared of any wrongdoing

The wrongful arrest allegations involved Hossein Miah, who was arrested over a suspicious tax disc. Miah alleged that the arresting officer pulled him from his vehicle causing him injury. The Police Complaints Authority cleared the officer of any charges relating to the incident, but expressed regret for "any distress which has been caused to either Mr Miah or his family.

Sporadic unrest had already begun in the area when a hoax 999 call was made at 20:25 saying a police officer had been hit by a petrol bomb. The police could not locate this, however the call lured them into Banstead Park, where they were met by a barricade of burning washing machines and furniture, looted from a nearby second hand shop. It was in Banstead Park where most of the confrontation took place, although the disturbances spread onto Roundhay Road, Roseville Road and smaller residential streets towards the south side of Harehills. By the time darkness had fallen the rioting had begun, and continued into the early hours of the following morning.

After over 200 participants spent over seven hours rioting, the police managed to make enough arrests to quell the size of the crowd to a point where it dispersed and the police could regain control.