Denmark: Deportation practice leads to street actions
01 November 1999
At the beginning of November the first sentences followed by a deportation of a person born in Denmark but of foreign nationality or with an almost life long Danish residence were handed down to three young men from Turkey and Lebanon. The Turkish man can never return to Denmark, the others are barred from returning for 10 years. The law says that a young person between 18 and 23 years of age can get Danish citizenship "by declaration" (which means that the application is voted on in parliament) avoiding the usual procedure, The three men had not used this procedure to get citizenship.
The sentences are the culmination of months of attacks on foreigners in Denmark by the mass media and the mainly rightwing politicians who have held young foreigners responsible for a rise in crime - a claim questioned by criminologists and lawyers.
There have been xenophobic suggestions from politicians covering the political spectrum, from the Social Democrats to the extreme right, over the last few years. Some have suggested that not only should "ethnic" criminals be placed in prison or closed institutions if they are not deported, but younger brothers and even entire families should be deported if one family member commits a crime punishable by prison. The "logic" behind this position is that younger brothers would soon commit crime and that it is the responsibility of the whole family. Since the family is not able to take care of their children they should all be punished.
This latest development started at the Vollsmose housing estate in Odense, the largest town on the island Fyn. Fifty percent of the inhabitants on the housing estate were not born in Denmark and most come from Lebanon, Turkey, Somalia and Vietnam. The unemployment rate is high and the level of education is low. The people living there are ghettoised. Some have tried to move following increasing police surveillance and
intervention. Young people no confidence in the social system. At clubs and discos etc. they often experience discrimination and exclusion, and they face long-term unemployment. This has led to a lot of violent confrontations.
The crime rate in Vollsmose is quite high since it exploded in the summer of 1999. Local politicians in Odense demanded more police and tougher punishment. The Minister of Justice, Mr. Frank Jensen, responded by sending a squad of 20 police officers to the area. There was a demand from some national politicians for tougher action against young ethnic people and moves by the social welfare system towards closed social institutions.
The deportation of the three young men led to reaction in the Copenhagen neighbourhood Nörrebro on the night between the 7 and 8 November. Around 20 youths overturned cars and set them alight. Windows were broken in many shops in the area. The disturbances continued for two hours before the police arrived; by which time the youths had disappeared. All the activists were masked and only two young people were arrested, but it is asserted that "ethnic" groups and so-called autonomous activists were responsible. It has been suggested that a law to outlaw the wearing of masks should be passed and the Minister of Justice has formed a team of top police officers to draw up a proposal on how to implement the mask ban during demonstrations. The government (social democrats and social-liberals) are split on the issue.
Lawyers and the director for the Danish Centre for Human Rights in Denmark, Mr Morten Karjum, have protested against the new legal practice by the courts against foreigners, which is considered as inhumane and a double sentence for non-Danish citizens.
Many young ethnic people have applied for Danish citizenship since the deportation sentences. But the government say they will make it more difficult to obtain Danish citizenship by declaration. If a person between 18 and 23 years old has a criminal record then their application for citizenship by declaration (wh