BBC cross-examines Danes on integration policy

Denmark’s immigration policies have been under scrutiny worldwide in recent years.  Sunday, the BBC broadcast a programme where a Copenhagen audience questioned four Danish politicians and social commentators on immigration, integration and Danishness.

The BBC had invited around 300 Danes to question a panel of MP for the Danish People’s Party Martin Henriksen, MP for the Red-Green Alliance Pernille Skipper, author Knud Romer and Integration Advisor Uzma Ahmed on matters such as immigration, the Danish burqa ban, and the concept of Danishness.

Brexit means uncertainty

Confusion and uncertainty. That seemed to sum up the mood of many at an otherwise informative briefing for British Nationals in Denmark on citizens’ rights after the UK´s exit from the EU.

There are over 18.000 British citizens living in Denmark. Around 200 of them had turned up to hear about what Brexit would mean for them at a packed event hosted by the British Embassy in Copenhagen at the Danish Architecture Centre on Thursday.

Danes don niqabs and masks to protest new law

Hundreds of demonstrators wore full-face veils, masks, diving equipment and helmets to protest the Danish Burqa law that came into force today. The law bans the use of the Muslim niqab veil and burqa, as well as other items that cover the face such as false beards and masks.

The demonstration started in the multicultural area of Nørrebro in the Danish capital Copenhagen and ended in front of the Bellahøj Police Station, where the demonstrators joined hands to form a human chain that surrounded the police station.

Det er svært at blive dansk

Det bliver sværere og sværere at blive dansker. Selvom jeg er født i Danmark af en dansk mor, har boet i Danmark siden 1979, og er dansk gift og har danske børn, fik jeg for nyligt afslag på min ansøgning om dansk statsborgerskab.

”De har ikke dokumenteret Deres kendskab til danske samfundsforhold, dansk kultur og historie”, stod der i anslaget til min ansøgning om dansk statsborgerskab. Afslaget dumpede ind af min brevsprække, næsten to år efter jeg havde ansøgt.

Becoming Danish is hard

It is increasingly hard to become Danish. Even though I am born in Denmark to a Danish mother, have lived in Denmark for most of my life, and am married to a Dane and have two Danish children, my post-Brexit application for Danish citizenship was rejected.

“You have not documented your knowledge and understanding of Danish society, culture and history,” I was told in a letter from the Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration. I received this letter nearly two years after I had applied for Danish citizenship.

Danish double standards on human rights

Denmark is fighting for a place on the UN Human Rights Council while supporting an EU fisheries agreement with Morocco that includes Western Sahara, in violation of international law and the ruling of the EU Court of Justice.

“As a member of the [UN Human Rights] Council, Denmark will work for … a world without torture, a world where indigenous peoples’ voices are heard and all their rights respected, a world in which human rights and the rule of law constitute the cornerstone of international and national structures in society.”

Denmark accepts Western Sahara fisheries negotiations

The Danish government accepts the European Commission line of negotiations of a new fisheries agreement with Morocco, which includes Western Sahara, even though it disregards two EU Court of Justice verdicts.

In a briefing note, published on Thursday, the Danish Government accepted the European Commission’s line of negotiations concerning a new fisheries agreement with Morocco. In the note, the Danish Government specifically mentions that Moroccan waters include Western Sahara.