Denmark: Racism and fascism (2)
01 January 1991
Denmark: Racism and fascism
artdoc April=1995
The numbers game
Focus on immigrant birth rates
The Statistical Institute of Copenhagen University says that the
number of children born to immigrant and refugee communities will
experience such a drastic increase over the next decade that
social unrest will follow unless provisions are made for the new
ethnic generation in schools, hospitals and the labour market.
Between 1994 and 2003, the Statistical Institute predicts, 55,005
children will be born to parents of non-Danish origin. This is
equivalent to the annual number of babies born to Danes
(Jyllands-Posten 30.11.94).
Bussing of immigrant children proposed
The boards of twelve schools in west Aarhus are pressuring the
city council to bus children of immigrants to schools all over
the municipality. Danish parents, they say, are sending their
children to schools in other parts of the city to avoid schools
with too high a concentration of immigrant children. `In order
to maintain a proper Danish school system, it is necessary that
we ensure a better distribution of foreign language speaking
children' said school chair, Niels Winsloew (Jyllands-Posten
22.10.94).
Housing associations accused of favouring refugees
A number of town mayors have accused housing associations of
discriminating in favour of large immigrant families with greater
access to benefits and rent rebates. Kjeld Rasmussen, the mayor
of Broendby, says that the rules should be changed so that the
average Danish family with fewer children can get access to
housing association flats (Jyllands-Posten 26, 27.11.94).
The National Association of District Councils has asked the
council to compel all local authorities to accept their share of
Bosnian refugees. The home secretary has already indicated that
should insufficient accommodation be available at local authority
level, she will instruct larger, private housing associations to
house a proportion of the Bosnian refugees (Jyllands-Posten
16,17,18.12.94).
Thies Christoffersen moves to Funen
The German nazi, Thies Christoffersen, has moved from Kollund in
southern Denmark to the Danish island of Funen (see bulletin no.
11). Christoffersen had previously claimed that he was returning
to Germany to face a prison sentence (TV2 News 22.12.94).
Criminalisation of anti-fascists
Police inspector Hans Joern Feldthaus from Soenderborg, a
district in south Jutland where several anti-nazi demonstrations
have recently taken place, says that anti-fascists are coming
dangerously close to using the same methods as the nazis
themselves. Inspector Feldthaus accuses the anti-fascists of
carrying out a witch-hunt against a married couple wrongly
accused of being fascists.
Police used tear-gas to break up an anti-fascist demonstration
against a nazi HQ in Greve on 8 October. It was, by all accounts,
a peaceful demonstration. But when riot police declared the
demonstration over, bottles were thrown.
Thirty-nine anti-fascists have been arrested and charged with
carrying offensive weapons in order to carry out violence. The
police say that the anti-fascists were on their way to wreck the
home of the Danish neo-nazi leader, Jonni Hansen, in Greve
(Jyllands-Posten 9,10,16.10, 2.11.94).
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