Danes mull exit permits for travel to 'terror zones'
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 16 Jan, 2015 CET.
Updated: Fri 16 Jan 2015 11:21 CET
Denmark’s opposition will today push for anyone travelling to the ‘terror zones’ in Syria or northern Iraq to be required to first obtain an official exit permit, introducing a document to Denmark rarely seen outside totalitarian regimes.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the leader of the centre-right Venstre Party, wants the permit requirement added to the anti-ISIS bill which on Friday entered the Danish parliament for the first day of debate. The controversial bill would empower police to seize the passports of Danish citizens suspected of planning to go and fight in Syria. Venstre’s integration spokesman Martin Geertsen dismissed criticism that ‘exit permits’ were a measure rarely seen outside totalitarian regimes such as Cuba, the Soviet Union, and North Korea. “It is an extraordinary situation, and we think it is much more effective to prohibit people from going there without prior permission, than what the government proposes,” Geertsen told state broadcaster DR. “Syria, Iraq and the terror zones down there are hardly the Costa del Sol or a holiday in Tuscany.” Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said earlier this week that her party was open in theory to the idea of exit permits. However, Social Democrat spokesperson Trine Bramsen cautioned that the party would only expand the scope of the bill after a “reasoned and informed” debate. “It is essential that we have all the facts on the table and know how the bill would work in practice,” she said. “That way we do not just say ‘yes’ to something without knowing the consequences.” The passport bill is expected to pass with a large majority before coming into force on March 1. Peter Vedel Kessing, a senior researcher at Denmark's Institute of Human rights on Friday warned that in its present wording, the bill risked violating the human rights of Danes. "The more vaguely the bill is worded, the greater the risk that we will hit innocent people," he told DR. At present the bill would empower Danish police to seize the passport of a person simply "if there is reason to believe that they will be a danger to the Danish government".
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Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the leader of the centre-right Venstre Party, wants the permit requirement added to the anti-ISIS bill which on Friday entered the Danish parliament for the first day of debate.
The controversial bill would empower police to seize the passports of Danish citizens suspected of planning to go and fight in Syria.
Venstre’s integration spokesman Martin Geertsen dismissed criticism that ‘exit permits’ were a measure rarely seen outside totalitarian regimes such as Cuba, the Soviet Union, and North Korea.
“It is an extraordinary situation, and we think it is much more effective to prohibit people from going there without prior permission, than what the government proposes,” Geertsen told state broadcaster DR. “Syria, Iraq and the terror zones down there are hardly the Costa del Sol or a holiday in Tuscany.”
Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said earlier this week that her party was open in theory to the idea of exit permits. However, Social Democrat spokesperson Trine Bramsen cautioned that the party would only expand the scope of the bill after a “reasoned and informed” debate.
“It is essential that we have all the facts on the table and know how the bill would work in practice,” she said. “That way we do not just say ‘yes’ to something without knowing the consequences.”
The passport bill is expected to pass with a large majority before coming into force on March 1.
Peter Vedel Kessing, a senior researcher at Denmark's Institute of Human rights on Friday warned that in its present wording, the bill risked violating the human rights of Danes.
"The more vaguely the bill is worded, the greater the risk that we will hit innocent people," he told DR.
At present the bill would empower Danish police to seize the passport of a person simply "if there is reason to believe that they will be a danger to the Danish government".
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