28 March 2012
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Denmark's track record
Denmark's
track record as a "progressive" member of the EU disappeared
with the election of the new rightwing Anders Fogh Rasmussen
government (liberal/conservative) and the extreme right wing
populist Dansk Folkeparti (DF, Danish Peoples Party). Statewatch's
Danish correspondent writes:
"this is already a reality in Denmark. It was adopted under the Aliens Act in May this year and was voted through by the Government (Liberal (V) and conservative (K)) supported by the Danish Peoples Party (DF).
What it means is that for up to seven years the police and security authorities can permanently evaluate the grounds for refugees status - has anything changed in the situation in their country of origin that in any way changes the basis upon which the original permission to stay was given? And if it has, the authorities must begin a process of reviewing and eventually withdrawing the refugee status. This can go on for up to seven years.
The question must be asked: Who wants to put an effort into a process which after six year and eight month suddenly will be stopped because the authorities evaluates the situation as normalised in the home country? Until this change after three years the temporary permission to stay became permanent.
The amendment was passed 31 May 2002 and was put into effect by 1 July 2002."
DENMARK
Loyalty oath to become
a Dane
Statewatch bulletin, vol 12 no 5 (August
- October 2002
As part of the spring deal between the new rightwing Anders
Fogh Rasmussen government (liberal/conservative) and the extreme
right wing populist Dansk Folkeparti (DF, Danish Peoples Party)
regarding refugee and immigration policy (see Statewatch vol
12 no 1) a special declaration must now be signed by applicants
to become Danish citizens.
In the declaration the applicant must sign the following general
statement:
"I declare faith and loyalty toward Denmark and the Danish
society and states willingness to abide by Danish law and respect
fundamental Danish legal principles."
The oath of loyalty asks the applicant to list all criminal
acts for which they have been convicted, whether in
Denmark or abroad. The oath then, extraordinarily, requires people
to admit to offences which the police do
not know about (again in Denmark or back in their home country).
The information provided may eventually
be handed over to the police for possible investigation and prosecution.
As a sign of the new political situation in Denmark - a dramatic
move to the right since the elections last November - these changes
in the procedure to apply for citizenship have raised few eyebrows
or the public debate. In the parliament the Red-Green Alliance
have taken up the implications of the oath of loyalty which are
far-reaching. One problem is that it is not specified in what
the consequences are of breaking the oath. When one is being
accused of being disloyal to Denmark, what can one then do to
defend oneself from accusations? Who is to decide that a person
is disloyal? These are some of the questions raised with the
Minister of Integration, Mr Bertel Haarder.
One of the few people outside the parliament to have taken up
the issue is the former human rights commissioner for the Baltic
Sea Area, Mr Ole Espersen. In a comment in the daily Information
he writes:
"the document bears testimony of the xenophobia and mistrust
which the government parties and Dansk Folkeparti so eagerly
claims does not exist in Denmark "
The agreement between the government and DF also contains
a number of demands which the applicant must
fulfil, such as the ability to speak Danish at the same level
as the final exam in the basic school (by the age
of ten) and a knowledge of Danish history, culture and society
at the same level.
Applications for citizenship will only be considered after nine
trouble-free years of uninterrupted residence in the country.
If a foreigner is married and, due to the partner's work has
to leave the country for a period, this period is not included
in the nine years. Added to this is a condition that the partner's
work abroad is for Danish "interests", whatever that
means.
The effects of this new procedure are already evident. Only about
900 people been granted citizenship and this is expected to be,
at the most, a couple of thousand. This compares to 16,757 last
year. 11,000 people, who were waiting to be processed, having
completed their tests, have now received a letter telling them
that their application have been nullified and that they must
start all over again under the new rules.
see also, A hard time for refugees, Statewatch News online, February 2002: Denmark
For people with a knowledge of Danish the legislation and
debates can be found on: www.folketinget.dk
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