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Danish report
by Euro Reporter
2009-08-17 07:45:39 |
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Some still support to the police
The arrest of Iraqi refugees taking shelter in a church has left a deeply divided population. A massive demonstration in Copenhagen yesterday protesting the arrest of 19 Iraqi refugees stands in stark contrast to multiple polls finding that the majority of people support the police.
Police estimate that more than 15,000 people took part in a march starting at Brorson’s Church in the Nørrebro district where the Iraqis had been living since May. They had sought refuge there with about 30 other Iraqis whose requests for asylum had been denied.
The march proceeded peacefully to Town Hall Square and on to the parliament building, where participants urged decision makers not to deport the Iraqis, some of whom have been living in Denmark for eight years. Some had feared a repeat of Wednesday’s violence, but after dictating the route the march was to take, police stayed on the sidelines. No arrests were made. Similar protests were also held in Århus, Aalborg and Svendborg.
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Car-free Nørrebro
City Council department proposes to ban cars permanently from one of Copenhagen’s busiest streets
The only vehicles on one of the city’s busiest roads will be buses and delivery vans if the City Council’s engineering and environmental department has its way.
The Nørrebro Retailers Association and the Liberal Party oppose Nørrebrogade, running through the heart of the Nørrebro district, car-free. A traffic project has since last October had sections of Nørrebrogade blocked off from cars and involved cycle-paths and walkways being widened in places.
A new report based on evaluations of that project proposes to make it permanent. But Johnny Beyer, deputy chairman of the Nørrebro Retailers Association, is far from enthusiastic about the proposal.
Beyer said the engineering and environmental department had overlooked two important facts in its report. ‘First up, the traffic study has cost between 300 and 500 jobs on Nørrebrogade because almost all shops have declined in sales since the trial started. In addition, I have spoken with many residents who feel insecure about the fact that the area has become virtually a village with no life.’ Beyer stressed that the decline in trade on the street was not only due to the recession. According to the union’s own research, the decline in trade in Nørrebro had been two to three times higher than in the country’s retail industry as a whole.
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School problems
Denmark’s reputation for having relatively few students per classroom is falling by the wayside, according to student interest organisation Danske Gymnasieelevers Sammenslutning. The latest figures from the organisation show the number of secondary school classes with over 25 students is at a record high.
Over 100 classes have more than 32 students, while 638 classes have at least 28. DGS indicated that just 10 years ago there were no classrooms at all with that many students. Compounding the problem of overcrowded classrooms is an ‘unsatisfactory’ Working Environment Authority rating for many schools. The authority indicated that the only workplaces with worse air quality and conditions for mental well-being at secondary schools were tyre shops, construction wood producing companies and car chassis manufacturers.
Ovi+Europe euro-reporter denmark EU |
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