‘Forcibly’ return Iraqi refugees

COPENHAGEN – Lately Denmark has been battling an influx of immigrants that has resulted from the war in Iraq. In late May, Danish officials made an agreement with the Iraqi government to “forcibly” return Iraqi refugees that were rejected from citizenship.

Although some of the refugees have been living here for more than eight years, they were told they needed to go back to their home country because they did not fulfill the requirements needed to become citizens. This news created a large uproar with the local refugees. The refugees state that the main reason they fled to Denmark was because Iraq was not safe to live in, and many of the refugees have claimed the country is still not safe enough to return to.

To demonstrate their opposition to this agreement, a handful of Iraqi refugees have taken up residence inside a church hoping that the Danish officials would let them stay. Their plan is similar to one that has been used in the past by other immigrants that were facing a comparable situation. The immigrants’ hope is that the government will grant them citizenship instead of sending them back to Iraq.

However, unlike the past, this demonstration created strong government disagreement; and not only was the government upset, but many Danish members of the church disagreed with harboring immigrants in the building. Many members disagreed so much with the pastor’s decision that they have even handed in their resignations of membership to the church.

Denmark knew it would experience opposition and expected problems. But a new problem developed when Iraqi officials stated that the agreement had different wording. The Iraqi officials state that the agreement was for voluntary repatriation, not forced repatriation. This has created a larger debate with Danish officials.

This isn’t the first time Denmark has had problems with immigration. Since 2002, when Denmark implemented its new immigration policies, citizens have criticized the government, and the EU and UN closely examine Denmark immigration practices. These policies consist of some the strictest rules and regulations on the path to citizenship.

As a result of the recent clamoring, it was no surprise to see the UN disapprove of the repatriation agreement between Iraq and Denmark. It criticized the agreement by stating that force should not be used and also criticized Iraq for signing the agreement when it is quite incapable of keeping its citizens safe.

The confusion and criticism that has surrounded this issue continues to be a hot topic in Copenhagen. Iraqi officials denying parts of the agreements means the issue is far from resolved.