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As France Uses Colonial-Era Law To Impose Curfews, a Look
at the Plight of Immigrant Youth in Europe
The Roots of Civil Unrest in Europe: Robert Fisk and Behzad
Yaghmaian on Post-Colonial Muslim and Arab Immigrants
The Battle of Algiers: 1996 Film Depicting Algerian War of
Independence Against French Occupation Parallels Brutal U.S.
Occupation of Iraq
Robert Fisk on Torture: "We Have Become the Criminals...We
Have No Further Moral Cause to Fight For"
As France Uses Colonial-Era Law To Impose Curfews,
a Look at the Plight of Immigrant Youth in Europe
The French government has declared a state of emergency
in response to the youth-led uprising that began nearly two
weeks ago, and has spread to over 300 towns and cities across
the country as well as Brussels and Berlin. We go to Paris
to speak with French-born journalist Naima Bouteldja and French-American
activist Julia Wright about how the current civil unrest is
rooted in decades of social discrimination. [includes rush
transcript]
Under the emergency laws, the government can implement curfews,
carry out house searches and ban public meetings. The French
newspaper Le Monde criticized the government’s decision
to invoke laws that were originally drawn up 50 years ago
to quell the independence movement in the former French colony
of Algeria. The paper’s editors wrote "exhuming
a 1955 law sends to the youth of the suburbs a message of
astonishing brutality: that after 50 years France intends
to treat them exactly as it did their grandparents."
One of the last blanket curfews in Paris was imposed solely
on Algerians in 1961. This led to mass protests and a severe
crackdown by the French police. On October 17. 1961 police
killed as many 200 pro-independence Algerians in what is now
known as the Paris Massacre. Police were accused of throwing
Algerian demonstrators into the River Seine after they had
been beaten unconscious.
Over the past two weeks the police have not resorted to such
force but there have been mass arrests. Since the uprising
began police have detained more than 1,500 people, many of
them of Arab or African descent. In recent days over 300 towns
and cities have been affected by the unrest including the
Belgian city of Brussels and the German city of Berlin. On
Tuesday night, youths threw firebombs at police and set cars
ablaze in the French city of Toulouse just as Interior Minister
Nicolas Sarkozy was visiting the area. Over the past two weeks
an estimated 6,000 cars have been set ablaze.
- Julia Wright, coordinator of the International Committee
in Solidarity with Mumia Abu-Jamal and Political Prisoners
in Paris. She is the daughter of renowned writer Richard
Wright, who authored the classic "Native Son.”
- Naima Bouteldja, a French-born journalist of North African
descent. She has written about the French uprising for the
Guardian of London.
The Roots of Civil Unrest in Europe: Robert Fisk
and Behzad Yaghmaian on Post-Colonial Muslim and Arab Immigrants
As the civil unrest in France approaches the end of the
second week, we look back at a critical moment in French history
that is still being felt today: the country’s colonial
rule of the North African nation of Algeria. We speak with
British journalist Robert Fisk about the French rule of Algeria
and the country’s war of independence and with Iranian-born
author and professor Behzad Yaghmaian, who spent two years
traveling in the Middle East and Europe following migrants
from Muslim countries. [includes rush
transcript]
- Behzad Yaghmaian, an Iranian-born author and professor
living in the United States. He is the author of the new
book “Embracing the Infidel: Stories of Muslim Migrants
on the Journey West,” it will be published later this
month by Delacorte Press. He wrote the book after spending
two years traveling in the Middle East and Europe following
migrants from Muslim countries.
- Robert Fisk, veteran war correspondent and the chief
Middle East correspondent for the London Independent and
author of several books. His latest is "The Great War
for Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East."
The Battle of Algiers: 1996 Film Depicting Algerian
War of Independence Against French Occupation Parallels Brutal
U.S. Occupation of Iraq
We play an excerpt of the highly acclaimed 1966 film, The
Battle of Algiers, that depicts the Algerian struggle for
independence against the French occupation in the 1950's and
early 60's. Parallels are being drawn between the French use
of torture against resistance fighters in Algeria and the
U.S. abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.
[includes rush
transcript]
We turn to a film that been called one of the most influential
political films in history - "The Battle of Algiers."
Released in 1966 by Italian filmmaker Gillo Pontecorvo, the
film vividly depicts the Algerian struggle for independence
against the French occupation in the 1950s and early 60s.
It recreates the brutal conflict between native Algerians
and French colonists in which the two sides exchange acts
of intensifying violence, leading to the introduction of French
paratroopers to root out the Algerian National Liberation
Front - known as the FLN. Paratroops are shown employing torture,
intimidation, and murder to defeat the resistance.
"The Battle of Algiers" was nominated for three
Academy Awards. But the film was banned in France for many
years following its release.
In 2003, the film again made the news after the Pentagon
offered a screening just months after the United States declared
the war against Iraq officially over. A flyer for the screening
stated the following: "How to win a battle against terrorism
and lose the war of ideas. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank
range. Women plant bombs in cafes. Soon the entire Arab population
builds to a mad fervor. Sound familiar? The French have a
plan. It succeeds tactically, but fails strategically. To
understand why, come to a rare showing of this film."
Now, parallels are being drawn between the French use of
torture in 1950s Algeria and the US abuse of prisoners in
Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay.
- "The Battle of Algiers" - excerpt of 1966 film
by Gillo Pontecorvo.
Robert Fisk on Torture: "We Have Become the
Criminals...We Have No Further Moral Cause to Fight For"
We speak with veteran war correspondent Robert Fisk of the
London Independent about the U.S. abuse of prisoners in Iraq,
Guantanamo Bay and rendition to other countries as well as
the role of journalists in a time of war. [includes rush
transcript]
- Robert Fisk, chief Middle East correspondent for the
London Independent. He is author of several books. His latest
is "The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of
the Middle East."
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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