This week it emerged that the UK had decided to revoke the British
citizenship of Shamima Begum, a so-called Islamic State (IS) bride who
wants to return to the UK after leaving London four years ago to join
ranks of the jihadist organisation in Syria.
Now, several parties in Denmark are looking to follow suit following a proposal from Dansk Folkeparti (DF) that aims to strip the Danish citizenship of people who travelled abroad to fight alongside IS.
So far, government parties Venstre and Konservative have supported DF’s proposal, although they are not in favour of doing anything that might be in breach of international conventions.
But despite this, the justice minister Søren Pape Poulsen said today that Denmark would likely have to accept the foreign fighters back.
“This is a complex problem and there is no perfect or simple solution. The fact is we can’t deny Danish citizens returning to Denmark,” said Poulsen.
The news comes after the US president Donald Trump urged European countries to bring back its foreign fighters the US are detaining in Syria. Otherwise, the US would have to simply release them.
But despite this, it looks as if some areas of the political spectrum will be doing their best to avoid such a scenario.
“We don’t want to breach conventions, but we will take it to the limit. We must send a clear signal that they are not welcome and we don’t want them back in Denmark – they also present a serious security risk,” Michael Aastrup Jensen, Venstre’s spokesperson on foreign affairs issues, told DR Nyheder.
Read more: Danish parties want to strip foreign fighters of citizenship – The Post
Now, several parties in Denmark are looking to follow suit following a proposal from Dansk Folkeparti (DF) that aims to strip the Danish citizenship of people who travelled abroad to fight alongside IS.
So far, government parties Venstre and Konservative have supported DF’s proposal, although they are not in favour of doing anything that might be in breach of international conventions.
But despite this, the justice minister Søren Pape Poulsen said today that Denmark would likely have to accept the foreign fighters back.
“This is a complex problem and there is no perfect or simple solution. The fact is we can’t deny Danish citizens returning to Denmark,” said Poulsen.
The news comes after the US president Donald Trump urged European countries to bring back its foreign fighters the US are detaining in Syria. Otherwise, the US would have to simply release them.
But despite this, it looks as if some areas of the political spectrum will be doing their best to avoid such a scenario.
“We don’t want to breach conventions, but we will take it to the limit. We must send a clear signal that they are not welcome and we don’t want them back in Denmark – they also present a serious security risk,” Michael Aastrup Jensen, Venstre’s spokesperson on foreign affairs issues, told DR Nyheder.
Note EU-Digest: It is unbelievable how subservient
the EU and its member states seem when reacting to US threats, even if
it goes against their own principles. Aren't they all aware by now that
the US Trump Administration has no respect for the EU, or cares about
anything the EU does or says. Come on EU show some backbone.
Read more: Danish parties want to strip foreign fighters of citizenship – The Post
