Denmark: Asylum and immigration (3)
01 January 1991
Denmark: Asylum and immigration
artdoc April=1995
Mayors demand halt to asylum
Around half of Denmark's 275 mayors and the National Association
of District Councils have called for a temporary halt to asylum.
The Mayor of Aarhus, Thorkild Simonson says that the predictions
of the far-Right have proved correct: too many refugees and
immigrants have been allowed into the country and attempts to
integrate them have failed. The mayors, who tend to represent
districts where between five and fifteen per cent of the
population are immigrants, say the government is provoking racism
by failing to deal with cultural conflict and the creation of
ghettos. In answer to this particular criticism, prime minister,
Poul Nyrud Rasmussen has said that over 1.5 billion kroner has
been put aside to counter the development of ghettos and improve
integration (Jyllands Posten 4, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16.12.94).
Quota-system for Bosnians demanded
Throughout December there has been a heated public debate about
the number of Bosnian refugees who have been granted asylum in
Denmark and whether a quota system should be set up so that all
countries within the EU take a fair share of Bosnian refugees.
Bosnians are the largest group of any single group to apply for
asylum in Denmark.
The government has introduced a parliamentary bill whereby
Bosnians whose applications are rejected would be given temporary
permits for six months as it is deemed unsafe to return them to
Bosnia. Under current legislation, this means that should the war
continue, the Bosnian's temporary residence permits would become
permanent after a further year. The Conservatives and Liberals
believe that the Bosnians should be sent home as soon as the war
is over. Liberal MP Birte Hornbech attempted to mount a petition,
demanding the bill be postponed. But home secretary Birte Weiss
appealed to the opposition to remember that people were the
central issue (Jyllands-Posten 14.10, 29,30.11, 27.12.94).
Forcible deportations on the increase
Statistics show that the number of people being deported using
force is increasing. In the first nine months of 1994, 270
asylum-seekers were escorted by the police after refusing to
accept deportation orders, compared with 214 asylum-seekers for
the whole of 1993. Many of the deportees come from Africa,
particularly Gambia (Jyllands-Posten 6.10.94).
Imprisonment of refugees an infringement of human rights
Danish Refugee Help, the Danish Centre for Human Rights, the
General Council of the Bar and Amnesty International have written
to the Home Office, claiming that imprisonment of asylum -seekers
from eastern Europe is a breach of the Danish constitution and
of human rights. Since, mid-September, 70 per cent of east
European asylum-seekers have been imprisoned while their asylum
applications are processed (Jyllands-Posten 9.12.94).
Legislation helps battered wives
A special committee reporting to the Home Office has recommended
that the rule on marriages, whereby foreigners are deported if
they are divorced within a three year time-span should be
reviewed. The committee says that the three year rule should be
lifted for battered wives (Jyllands -Posten 7.12.94).
IRR European Race Audit, Bulletin no 12, March 1995. Contact: Liz
Fekete, Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London
WC1X 9HS. Tel: 0171 837 0041