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11 - 17 May 2012 | Vol 15 Issue 19 Denmark’s only English-language newspaper | cphpost.dk

THE PUBLIC sector needs to shrink, Danes have to get back to work, and young people need opportunities for education and

jobs. � ose are some of the conclusions reached in the government’s 2020 plan.

Prime Minister Helle � orning Schmidt (Socialdemokraterne), For-eign Minister Vily Søvndal (Socialis-tisk Folkeparti) and Economy Minister Margrethe Vestager (Radikale ) unveiled the S-R-SF government’s long-awaited plan at a joint press conference on Tues-day morning.

“We believe it is possible to maintain the welfare state, but only if more Danes

can � nd work,” said � orning-Schmidt.� e blueprint calls for � nding

180,000 new jobs by 2020 and a public/private plan to get young people back into the workforce.

� e prime minister said the money to create new partnerships between busi-nesses, schools and the government would come via savings realised by streamlining the public sector, cutting defence costs, and trimming public initiatives like � ex and retirement plans.

� e plan calls for private sector eco-nomic growth of 2.25 percent per year until 2020.

Education and greater opportunity for young people were also major lynch-pins of the 2020 plan.

Søvndal said that Denmark risks los-ing an entire generation to unemploy-ment and a lack of opportunity.

2020 vision: government releases ­ nancial planbill, while wealthy Danes can count on tax cuts,” Aaen said. “� is was probably not what the voters expected when they elected a social democratic government.”

During last year’s campaign, the S-R-SF coalition promised 1.4 percent growth in the public sector.

� orning-Schmidt said that tough times require tough measures.

“� e whole world has been through a severe crisis that has also seriously af-fected Denmark,” said the prime minis-ter. “Even getting to 0.8 percent requires tough decisions.”

� e PM declined to say when the government would start negotiations with its partners and parliament on the 2020 plan, but acknowledged that the S-R-SF coalition is a minority government and that it would need help getting the 2020 plan approved.

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Cimber Sterling goes bust, leaving some stranded

Three days with the junkies in Aarhus

1510

Happy never after in the Black Fairytale

Jobs and education key points of economic 2020 plan

“We are convinced that young peo-ple will work and want to contribute to society. � ey just need a chance,” said Søvndal.

� e plan calls for 60 percent of stu-dents to undertake continuing education – up from the current 54 percent. � e plan also calls on businesses to create op-portunities and apprenticeships for stu-dents and new graduates.

While the plan calls for 2.25 percent growth in the private sector, public growth would only be 0.8 percent annually.

Frank Aaen of Enhedslisten released a statement that indicated strongly that the government would need to make some serious changes in the plan before it could count on his party’s support (see related story on page 3).

“Wage earners, the unemployed and people with disabilities are footing the

Nørrebro community centre aims to change the asylum experience 4-5

Flipping the script

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� e achievement gap between the nation’s private and public schools continues to widen

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Danish leaders were quick to congratulate France’s incoming president François Hollande

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2 11 - 17 May 2012The Copenhagen posT CphposT.dkWeek in revieW

A new report showed that four out of five Filipino au pairs work-ing in Denmark are being forced to work more hours than their contracts permit. The survey was conducted by Vanessa Faith Agrada, a sociology student who works as an au pair in Gentofte. Only 20 percent of the 50 au pairs she interviewed described

themselves as “happy and satis-fied”. “Au pairs are being treated like maids,” Agrada told Infor-mation newspaper. enhedslisten spokesperson Jørgen Arbo-Bæhr said his party is calling for chang-es to the au pair system. “women from third world countries come here and are treated like slave la-bour,” said Arbo-Bæhr.

Peter SørenSen (Social-demokraterne) has taken over as mayor of Horsens following the sudden death of Jan trøjborg (Socialdemokraterne). trøjborg, pictured above, suffered a heart attack on Sunday during a bike ride. Sørensen attempted to re-vive his friend to no avail. So-cialdemokraterne (S) in Hors-

ens rallied behind Sørensen as trøjborg’s replacement. He has been on the city council since 2005 and was serving as deputy mayor. trøjborg’s death shocked S members throughout Den-mark, especially in Horsens where he was a popular and well respected mayor. Sørensen will be officially sworn in next week.

Horsens heroes

Ten YeaRs ago. a report by the Ministry of Commerce shows that danes work less hours and less effectively than their global counterparts.

FIVe YeaRs ago. Continental airlines starts offering copies of The Copenhagen post on its daily flights from newark Liberty airport.

one YeaR ago. In front of a hometown crowd, heavyweight boxer Brian nielsen is pummelled to defeat by former world champ evander holyfield

FRoM oUR aRChIVes

The Week’s MosT Read sToRIes aT CphposT.dk

Cimber sterling goes bankrupt

new immigration laws set to kick in next month

dF wants to take away foreigners’ right to vote

Rights groups laud immigration changes

pernickety dicky | dear Copenhagen

President and Publisher ejvind Sandal

Chief executiveJesper nymark

editor-in-ChiefKevin McGwin

Managing editorBen Hamilton

news editorJustin Cremer

JournalistsPeter Stanners, ray weaver & Christian wenande

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Founded in 1998 by San Shepard

denmark’s only english-language newspaperSince 1998, The Copenhagen Post has been Denmark’s leading source for news in english. As the voice of the international community, we provide coverage for the thousands of foreigners making their home in Denmark. Additionally, our english language medium helps to bring Denmark’s top stories to a global audience.

In addition to publishing the only regularly printed english-language newspaper in the country, we provide up-to-date news on our website and deliver news to national and international organisations. The Copenha-gen Post is also a leading provider of non-news services to the private and public sectors, offering writing, trans-lation, editing, production and delivery services.

Visit us online at www.cphpost.dk

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On the third stage of the Giro d’italia bicycle race on Monday, the pack rode past a rapeseed field in Horsens

don’T FoRgeT Thursday, May 17 is Kristi himmelfartsdag, a national holi-day. enjoy your day off; we will!

OverworkedSudden loss

ACCOrDInG to a new report from the world Health Organi-sation, Danish kids have a high quality of life compared to other european countries. The wHO report surveyed male and female children between the ages of 11 and 15 and found that although they fared well overall, they did have some issues. Danish kids

indicated that they ate breakfast every school day and ate lots of fruit while staying away from soft drinks. But they fared poorly when it came to doing an hour of activity every day and girls, in par-ticular, are concerned about their weight. And Danish youths still get drunk more frequently than their european counterparts.

Happy teens

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311 - 17 May 2012 The Copenhagen posT CphposT.dk News

public schools are in danger of losing good students

The rhetoric was hot and the mood sharp at enhedslisten’s (eL) annual convention, held last week-

end at Korsgadehallen in Nørrebro.rumours out of christiansborg indi-

cated that eL was threatening to scupper the government’s proposed budget, even if it meant a dissolution of the current S-r-SF government that eL supports.

Before the meeting got underway, MP Pernille rosenkrantz-Theil of Social-demokraterne (and a former eL mem-ber) accused her old party of being too vague when it comes to answers aimed at solving Denmark’s financial challenges.

“enhedslisten points too many fin-gers and has too few answers,” rosenk-rantz-Theil told Berlingske newspaper. “every time we discuss how to get out of the crisis, their only answer is that the rich should pay more, but there are sim-ply not enough rich people in Denmark to fix all of the problems.”

rosenkrantz-Theil says eL is merely fishing for votes when they constantly preach that the rich should pay more.

“They are starting to become more left-wing populist than Pia Kjaersgaard is right-wing populist, and that is highly regrettable,” she said.

eL’s meeting started off with what seemed to be a setback for party spokes-person Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen. She and the executive board had called for scrapping the party’s entire platform and starting from scratch. The delegates at the convention, however, rejected the board’s proposal to create an entirely new platform and decided instead to keep

and adjust the one currently in place.Schmidt-Nielsen denied that the

delegates’ decision was a setback.“The important thing is that we

have started a process where a new pro-gramme can be created by modernising the old,” she told Berlingske. “i have previously said that is what we should do, and i am glad the delegates agreed.”

The party’s executive council had wanted to draft a new platform to be dis-cussed at the party’s next annual meeting and then be voted on in 2014. critics feared a dilution of the party’s socialist principals, and the board’s proposal was shot down by a vote of 202 to 151.

one thing the party’s newly-elect-ed leadership did agree on was that they intended to continue to hold PM helle Thorning-Schmidt (Social-demokraterne) and her cabinet’s feet to the fire.

Several speakers criticised the gov-ernment for its austerity measures and

Feisty enhedslisten promises to keep pushing government to the leftThe s-R-sF coalition shouldn’t take the support of the far left for granted, the party warns at annual convention

Ray WeaveR

online This week

SKat’S NaMe and logo are being used in a professional phishing con that includes fake emails seemingly sent from the tax authority. a fake email that poses as an official message from Skat encourages the receiver to divulge sensitive personal details in or-der to collect reimbursement fees. Skat encourages anyone who has received the emails to immediately delete it and not to click on the link to the form.

phishing for your details

Read The Full sToRies aT CphposT.dk

F igureS gathered by the inde-pendent research group Farmsub-sidy have indicated that subsidies,

which are much needed in the strug-gling Danish agricultural sector, are in-stead falling into the hands of undeserv-ing parties that have nothing to do with agriculture.

The list of beneficiaries who receive the billions of kroner from the eu ag-ricultural subsidy programme include everything from airports and amuse-ment parks to golf clubs and camping grounds.

The funds were earmarked for farm-ers, but a loophole in the law that states that land that could potentially be used for agriculture qualifies, meaning that many other parties have been reap-ing the benefits. according to carsten Daugbjerg, a professor at the institute of Food and resource economics at the university of copenhagen, that was not the aim of the subsidies.

“Nobody had any intentions that

Beer aND wiNe sales fell by 7 per-cent in the first quarter, and retailers say that tax increases and more Danes than ever buying their booze down south are the reasons. on January 1, the government raised wine taxes by 3.50 kroner a litre and beer taxes by 7.0 kroner per crate. “it’s not because Danes suddenly became teetotalers on New Year’s Day,” coop food manager Jens Visholm told Politiken newspaper. “They are simply driving to the borders and getting their wine and beer there.” german border shops admit they have seen a slight increase in beer and wine sales, but credit a mild winter, rather than the new tax, for the increased business from Danes.

Beer and wines sales plummet

DaNeS are facing the possibility of being stripped of two holidays as the government and the workers’ unions try and come up with four billion kro-ner of extra work production. The ne-gotiations continue on the prospect of getting rid of great Prayer Day (Store Bededag), and also either Maundy Thursday (Skærtorsdag) or whit Mon-day (2. Pinsedag). Several union leaders have expressed their displeasure with the suggestion to scrap the holidays.

holidays may soon go on permanent vacation

a New rePort by ugebrevet a4 revealed that the nation’s public schools are losing ground to private

schools in terms of student achievement.The grade point average at private

schools was higher than that in public schools in 68 of the 85 councils exam-ined by a4, and the gap is growing. in 2008, the difference between public and private schools was more than one grade point in 24 councils. Last year, 36 coun-cils reported a gap of greater than one grade point.

experts say the achievement gap could cost public schools their best and brightest students.

“Public schools are in danger of losing good students,” hans hummel-gaard of anvendt Kommunalforskn-ing, a government research group, told ugebrevet a4. “This creates a problem because strong students help to lift up the weaker ones.”

Niels egelund, a professor at aarhus university, agreed with hummelgaard.

“it is very troubling that public schools are so far behind,” he told a4. “an achievement gap of that size will

certainly affect where parents send their children to school.”

egelund believes that the way the government subsidies private schools should be changed and more money should be available to public schools.

The education minister, christine antorini (Socialdemokraterne), said that she does not believe the solution to the achievement gap is to reduce government subsidies to private schools, but did sug-gest examining how private schools are living up to their social responsibilities.

ugebrevet a4’s analysis is based on the grade point average of the fi-nal ninth-grade exams in Danish and mathematics among private and pub-lic school students for the school year 2010-11. The differences between pub-lic and private school performance was most pronounced in copenhagen’s Vest-egn area, which includes the councils of glostrup, Brøndy, albertslund, ishøj and høje taastrup, among others. (rw)

continued reduction of social pro-grammes. Many eL members continued to question the budget that is scheduled to be voted on in the autumn.

“i cannot imagine us voting for a budget where those needing the most help pay a huge cost in reduced servic-es,” Jacob Lindblom, one of the party’s new leaders, told Politiken newspaper.

Speaking about the rumours that enhedslisten would attempt to break up the coalition government and force an election, Lindblom said: “we would never overturn a red government, but it has to be red in action, not just in name. They should not take us for granted.”

Former MP Line Barfod, who re-ceived the third-highest amount of votes of the 25 members on the execu-tive committee, was also critical of the government.

“There is no doubt that we do not support increasing inequality in Den-mark or cutting aid to the sick and the

disabled,” she told Politiken.Barfod said that eL would support

Thorning-Schmidt’s government if it implemented the policies that they were elected to put in place.

eL’s financial spokesperson, Frank aaen, said that the party is looking to increase the taxes on profits homeown-ers earn when they sell their house.

“People in some areas of the coun-try have earned more money while they were asleep than while they were at work, just because they owned a house in an area where values increased,” aaen told Berlingske. “we want to tax those increases when a home is sold.”

The tax would be calculated on the selling price of the house, minus the purchase price and would exclude any improvements that were made on the property. Socialistisk Folkeparti’s tax spokesman, Jonas Dahl, warned against introducing such a tax in today’s uncer-tain housing market.

public schools not making the gradeachievement gap continues to widen between private and public schoolsairports, golf clubs and the like should

be granted a part of the agriculture subsidy when it was created,” Daugb-jerg told Politiken newspaper.

in addition, the list of over 50,000 recipients also include the state and the public sector. Some 26 councils, two re-gions, and state-owned bodies such as the Danish coastal authority, Kystdirek-toratet, have been receiving the funds.

The purpose of the eu programme was to disperse 220 billion kroner a year across the eu to improve the living conditions of farmers. Some 6.7 billion kroner of the funds go to Denmark.

Denmark’s former eu commis-sioner of agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel (Venstre), found it outrageous that a golf club is getting money from the eu.

“unfortunately, there are lots of these kinds of absurd beneficiaries,” Boel told Politiken. “considering the intentions of the agricultural subsidy, it is ridiculous that they should be re-ceiving money, for the simple reason that they do not operate within the agricultural sphere.”

The eu has been conscious of the issue since 2008, but despite encour-

aging the member states to make their own rules so that only farmers would re-ceive the subsidy, nothing has changed.

Mette gjerskov (Social-demokraterne), Denmark’s minister of agriculture, told Politiken that the eu agricultural initiatives were obviously not created to aid airports or amusement parks, but she feared that too much bu-reaucracy would hinder major changes.

The european commission will try to prevent some of the non-farmers from getting a piece of the pie by cre-ating a so-called ‘negative list’, which would contain types of applicants that should not be granted the subsidies, and will reduce the number of unde-serving beneficiaries.

Farmers themselves support the ‘negative list’ for two important reasons, full-time farmer henrik Frandsen said.

“it will be important on two fronts: the first being that the money will actu-ally be going to the farmers,” Frandsen told Politiken. “But, the second is that, in the public eye, it is important that the farmers receive support for supply-ing an effective, modern and quality service, and for them it is a matter of principle.” (cw)

agriculture subsidies going astrayResearch group finds that a big portion of eu farm subsidies go to recipients that have nothing to do with agriculture

Johanna schmidt-Nielsen and crew have vowed to keep applying pressure to the government parties

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4 11 - 17 May 2012The Copenhagen posT CphposT.dkCover story

In a quiet corner in the city district of nørrebro is a commu-nity centre called the trampoline House. Run by asylum seekers,

activists and curious Danes, the house’s users are offered a range of activities and services, from counselling and language lessons to hairdressing and tailoring.

independently funded, the house operates outside the official asylum sys-tem and actively seeks to influence asy-lum law. Over the past six weeks, The Copenhagen Post has kept track of its latest campaign to encourage the gov-ernment to live up to its promises.

“asylum seekers should have the opportunity to work and live outside asylum centres,” the government wrote in their common policy after their elec-tion win last September. “Failed asylum seekers are thereby built up as people and are given better skill sets.”

The current system, they argue, can turn some asylum seekers – many of whom have travelled thousands of miles fleeing conflict and persecution – into passive and isolated individuals with little control over their own lives. While this may only apply in extreme cases, the consensus among the asylum seekers, aid agencies, social workers and activists who spoke to The Copenhagen Post was that hundreds of lives would improve if asylum seekers were allowed to live and work outside centres, thus re-turning to them a degree of the control that they had long been deprived of.

But during the time spent with the activists at the trampoline House, it became clear that their battle was not simply to improve the rights and living conditions of asylum seekers, but also to change the naïve attitudes directed at foreigners – the fear sensed by the right-wing and the pity felt by the left-wing. The fight then was also for something greater: to demonstrate that the Dan-ish concept of integration should be changed from the current one-sided policy of assimilation to a reciprocal and even-handed meeting of equals.

reaching out

MOSt OF Denmark’s asylum centres are located in the countryside, far from shops and amenities. This geographical isolation is the first hurdle many have to overcome when getting on with their lives in Denmark as they await the out-come of their cases. in principle, asylum seekers are not forced to stay at the cen-tres and only have to return every fort-night to pick up their mail and pocket money. The costs associated with travel-ling to and from the centres is a severe limitation however, though the Red Cross, which manages most of the cen-tres, does cover some of the costs associ-ated with travel for educational purposes.

The trampoline House’s campaign culminates in a May 13 march in Co-penhagen entitled ‘Walk Out of the Camps’. The march will start at the asylum Center Kongelunden in south amager and head toward the city cen-tre. The use of the word ‘camp’ instead of ‘centre’ is deliberate: a means of high-

lighting the isolation the facilities im-pose on their residents.

a series of outreach events were planned at asylum centres in order to spread both the message of the tram-poline House and garner support from asylum seekers for the march. at an outreach event at Sandholm asylum Centre, residents shared their experi-ences. Some expressed their frustrations at having to spend years at the centres waiting for a decision on their asylum applications, all the while being exclud-ed from the Danish job market.

among them was Vincent ergara, who had left his life as a secondary school teacher in nigeria to seek asylum in Denmark. He explained what it was like to live at a centre in Brovst in north-ern Jutland.

“We lived in the forest, with the animals,” he said. “The telephone net-work is bad and it is far from Copen-hagen. We are isolated. it’s no way to keep people.”

Ramy Mofaddy, 34, a doctor and former asylum seeker from Syria who was granted residency last year, went to Sandholm as a house activist. Last year he fled to Denmark after government forces detained many of his friends. Mo-faddy explained that while he managed to adapt to the rural lifestyle after being placed in an asylum centre in the Jutland countryside for three months, he could understand why so many others have such a hard time.

“it felt like you were arrested, be-ing removed from social contact, but without the bars and the keys,” Mo-faddy said. “it’s hard for people when they become isolated psychologically. i had an okay time because there was a big library and i had plenty of time to read. it’s people who don’t have the lan-guages to connect with each other who experience problems. and if they have no skills, they have nothing to do.”

according to anne la Cour, the head of asylum at Red Cross Denmark, the negative effects of living at a centre often become clear after about a year.

“People become weaker and de-pressed and parents lose the strength to look after their children,” she said. “it’s not a dignified way to live life for very long. We recommend a much more flexible system. But even at camps with more normal living conditions, such as in Jelling where families can live togeth-er and cook for themselves, living at an asylum centre is not a normal life.”

overcoming barriers

GiVen La Cour’s appraisal, allowing asylum seekers to live and work outside centres would clearly be a positive de-velopment. But according to Morten Goll, the trampoline House’s creative director, many will still probably find themselves shut out of the job market.

“The majority of asylum seekers who arrive in Denmark neither have the cor-rect qualifications for a Danish job nor the correct language skills,” Goll said.

This is where the trampoline House can help. Goll hopes to professionalise many of the activities already found within the house, such as hairdressing and catering. The house’s 300 Danish volunteers also provide asylum seek-ers with a social network that will help them find work and accommodation.

Goll wants to roll out a dozen trampoline Houses across the country

in order to improve the opportunities of all asylum seekers in Denmark. it’s a vision that Fareed ahmed Kabeer, a trampoline House activist and aslyum seeker, supports.

“The trampoline House is limited to Copenhagen, but other cities in Den-mark need one too. it has let me com-municate with people from all over the world – people that i now care about,” he said, adding that the house had given him more control over his life.

Kabeer, 27, sought asylum in Den-mark after working as a military inter-preter in afghanistan for four years. He said he appreciated being able to talk to people in english, the house’s common language. Before he found out about the house, he spent most of his time at the asylum centre in avnstrup where his language skills started to deteriorate.

“i try to be as active as i can in the house, not only to help other asylum seekers but also for my own sake. The right to work will also apply to me,” Ka-beer explained.

A critical voice, not an arm of the state

SiF BRuun, 22, gave up studying to be an international social worker to fo-cus her attention on being one of the house’s activists. She argues that the way the house’s users interact challenges the prevailing political attitude towards in-tegration in Denmark

“The house has a radical practice because we work as equals,” Bruun said in the house’s kitchen. “i feel like i’m in-tegrating together with the others. But in Denmark, integration has become as-similation. The attitude is that someone else needs to be integrated and it’s their responsibility. But i feel that integration

activists work to put more control in asylum seekers’ handsa city community centre is the setting for a fight to improve conditions for asylum seekers and fundamentally change attitudes toward foreigners

Peter StannerS

means that we learn from each other and not only that, they learn from us.”

With Goll’s ambitions to scale up, Bruun worries that people may think the trampoline House could take over the role of the state in the act of ‘integrating’ foreigners. Fellow activist Thomas el-sted, 29, chimed in that doing so would undermine the credibility of the house.

“The house is not only a cultural meeting place, but also a place that is run by activists and people who are trying to change the system,” elsted said. “You can’t then take the house model and have it take over functions of the state, because then it will stop being able to be critical.”

This message is significant. While the trampoline House activists sup-port the government’s proposal, they fear the legislation will not apply to rejected asylum seekers who the police judge are not co-operating in their own repatriation. These asylum seekers can already face sanctions – so-called ‘mo-tivational measures’ – such as having their pocket money withdrawn, having to attend regular police interviews, and even imprisonment.

it could be argued that asylum con-ditions in Denmark are not that ter-rible. asylum seekers are provided for, live in picturesque environments, and are offered a range of educational and training opportunities from the Red Cross. if they have the correct qualifi-cations, and if the Red Cross agrees to foot the bill, asylum seekers can also en-rol in university courses.

But in many ways, the exclusion of asylum seekers from the job market is hard to justify and may even be coun-ter-productive, according to the report ‘asylum Camp Limbo’, by the Danish organisation Refugees Welcome.

“analysis from other countries points out that people who have been activated through employment or edu-cation during their stay are much more likely to return voluntarily when the situation in their country of origin so permits,” Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen from the Danish institute for interna-tional Studies wrote in the report.

With the police even admitting in a recent report that motivational methods had little effect on whether asylum seek-ers co-operated or not, La Cour from the Red Cross reinforced the message that including asylum seekers as full members of society at an earlier stage is more likely to encourage them to return should they get a rejection.

“When asylum seekers arrive, their competencies should be supported and developed,” she said. “The more activi-ties you can offer them, the more they feel able to make the decision to return if they are rejected. Making them live under awful living conditions will just have the opposite effect.”

eva Singer, head of the asylum de-partment at the Danish Refugee Council, argued that spending more time under-standing the challenges faced by asylum seekers would probably achieve better results if they are told to return home, rather than reducing their quality of life.

“Motivational methods are a stick rather than a carrot,” Singer said. “We have to understand their circumstances. Many are not expecting to go home and many leave without having anything to return to.”

opening up Denmark

GOLL aRGueS that a naïve fear of foreigners has driven immigration pol-

trampoline House users and activists outside the building on skyttegade in Nørrebro

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511 - 17 May 2012 The Copenhagen posT CphposT.dk news

Monday’s bomb scare on the island of Rømø turned out to be a false alarm. What was originally thought to be a bomb turned out not to contain any explosive ma-terials. authorities now believe it may be a pressure tank from an airplane. Residents and tourists

on Rømø were evacuated from the area for a total of seven hours. The island, off the west coast of Jutland near the German border, is a well known summer holi-day residence area. The item was originally believed to be a bomb from the second World War era.

Rømø bomb scare turns out to be false alarm

online This week

He Was supposed to help chil-dren and youths who had been sexually abused. But instead, the 63-year-old leader of a skander-borg institution for abused chil-dren sexually abused a number of the children he was hired to protect. “He is a former institu-tional supervisor, and the case involves abuse of children and

young people who have been placed at the institution,” Uffe Villumsen, the deputy police commissioner for special inves-tigations in south-east Jutland, told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. The police did not provide any further information ahead of the trial, which is going on behind closed doors.

new abuse case rocks skanderborgFoUR danish tourists were as-saulted in nørrebro’s Folkets Park on saturday afternoon, apparent-ly due to a case of mistaken iden-tity. Witnesses reported to police that the assailants may have be-lieved the three young men and one woman in the car were mem-bers of a rival gang. a 22-year-old man was stabbed three times in

the stomach, resulting in internal bleeding and a collapsed lung. He was rushed to the hospital where doctors managed to save his life. He is reportedly now out of dan-ger. Police reported on Tuesday that one 16-year-old male had been arrested in connection with the attacks. The investigation is ongoing.

Four innocent victims attacked in Folkets park

Read The Full sToRies aT CphposT.dk

activists work to put more control in asylum seekers’ hands

icy to exclude asylum seekers from the job market and restrict their freedoms when they refuse to voluntarily return to countries they left under duress.

“The solution to this problem is to consider asylum seekers as equal citizens,” Goll said. “not that every-one should be given citizenship, but we should stop fearing and pitying them, and start treating them like human be-ings. They come here with a dream, and they should be included because we can learn something from them.”

Goll’s colleague at the Trampoline House, the community outreach officer søren Rafn, also argued that simply giv-ing asylum seekers the right to work is not enough. danes also need to recognise them as legitimate members of society.

“It’s a matter of treating people as members of a community instead of as people who are applying to become members of a community. as soon as people step through the door of Tram-poline House they share and create ex-periences,” Rafn said.

Ramy Mofaddy’s enthusiasm for the project is clear.

“The Trampoline House is an amaz-ing project. It breaks down barriers and gathers people from all ethnic groups and languages and traditions. We are all human beings who can contribute to society, so we should concentrate our ef-forts on building this country together.”

For more information about the ‘Walk Out of the Camps’ demonstration on Sun-day, head to www.outofthecamps.dk

i F yoU aRe a foreigner living in denmark, dansk Folkeparti (dF) wants to take away your right to vote.The current voting rules stipulate

that foreigners who have lived in den-mark for four years can vote in local and regional elections. The government has proposed dropping that to three years, but according to ekstra Bladet, dF would rather have foreigners not vote at all.

The party’s integration spokesperson, Martin Henriksen, told the tabloid that only citizens should be allowed to vote.

“Today, you need to be a danish citizen to vote in parliamentary elec-tions,” Henriksen said. “That is a rea-sonable rule, and we would like to ex-pand that to include local and regional elections.”

Under the current rules, citizens of nordic countries are permitted to vote in local and regional elections imme-diately upon moving to denmark, and Henriksen said dF would be willing to continue to allow them to do so.

Henriksen’s proposal was not greet-ed warmly by the governing parties.

Liv Holm andersen, the integration spokesperson for Radikale (R), told The Copenhagen Post that dF’s proposal goes against democratic principles.

“For me it is about democratic in-clusion, which is about getting as many people to vote as possible, and as many different types of people voting as pos-sible,” andersen said. “It’s essential to

vote in local elections because it affects schools, daycare and other issues that are important to all of us. It is a miscon-ception that you can only be a part of society if you are a citizen. If you have a job, send your kids to daycare and so on, you are a part of society and should have the right to vote.”

simon Kollerup, a spokesperson for socialdemokraterne (s), told ekstra Bladet that dF’s proposal would have a negative impact on integration.

“dansk Folkeparti is apparently not very happy that people who move to denmark and are a part of society also take part in local democracy,” Kollerup told ekstra Bladet. “I don’t know what planet Martin Henriksen is on. does dF really want fewer people to partici-pate in local democracy?”

While dF has a pretty clear track record regarding its attitudes towards foreigners, Henriksen’s proposal may be as much about winning elections as it is immigration. a poll in March indicated that non-ethnic danes clearly favoured the governing, left-of-centre parties. out of 1,028 respondents to the Voxmeter poll, 34 percent said they would vote for s, and 17 percent would support socialistisk Folkeparti (sF).

But andersen called it undemo-cratic that dF would attempt to limit the voting rights of individuals who are likely to vote against them. she also said that the party’s history of policies and rhetoric aimed at foreigners made the poll numbers unsurprising.

“If the right wing treated minori-ties with respect, that would change,” andersen told The Copenhagen Post. “But of course those results would make sense if the right-wing’s hostile attitude towards foreigners continues.”

dF wants to take away foreigners’ right to voteRight-wing party says that only citizens should be able to vote in local and regional elections

Justin Cremer

hUMan rights groups have come out in support of proposed changes to immigration laws that

would ease permanent residency regula-tions and do away with residency point systems.

The increasingly strict immigration laws passed by the previous government had drawn criticism from rights groups, but rights groups said the proposal put forth by the justice minister, Morden Bødskov (socialdemokraterne), was a step in the right direction.

“The proposal generally enhances the protection of human rights,” Jo-nas Christoffersen, the head of human rights organisation Institut for Men-

neskerettigheder, told Information newspaper. “so of course it is positive that some of our earlier recommenda-tions are now being adopted.”

andreas Kramm, the secretary gen-eral of refugee aid organisation dansk Flygtningehjælp, also had praise for the suggested law change, but said further changes were needed.

“The seemingly endless stiffening of the rules is now to be replaced by a posi-tive proposal that eases the immigration prerequisite,” Kramm told Information. “But trees don’t grow all the way up to heaven. The danish immigration law will still be very strict, even with the changes.”

The new immigration laws are scheduled to be approved and imple-mented on May 15 for family reuni-fication cases and on June 1 for cases involving permanent residence. (CW)

Rights groups laud immigration changesimmigration advocates say further relaxation is necessary

Left: The Trampoline House’s creative director Morten Goll, who says “we should stop fearing and pitying” asylum seekers. Right: søren Rafn, the centre’s community outreach officer, talking at a house meeting

Among the residents who call the Trampoline House home are Afghan refugee Fareed Ahmed Kabeer (top) and Ramy Mofaddy, a syrian granted asylum (below)

6 11 - 17 May 2012The Copenhagen posT CphposT.dkNews

nearly two and a half years after breaking into cartoonist Kurt Wester-

gaard’s residence with an axe and a knife, Muhudiin Mo-hamed Geele finally received his sentence.

The 30-year-old Somali, dubbed the ‘axe Man’, had pre-

viously been convicted of terror-ism in a district court and that verdict was affirmed last week in the Supreme Court.

Westergaard became the symbol of Jyllands-Posten news-paper’s infamous Mohammed drawings, and therefore the court ruled that the attack was also an act against the safety of the Danish people and the founding structures of Denmark.

Geele was convicted of ter-ror and sentenced to ten years in prison to be followed by expul-

somalian who attacked cartoonist kurt Westergaard receives a ten-year jail sentence followed by deportation

‘axe man’ convicted of terrorism in Westergaard casesion from Denmark.

“To kill Kurt Westergaard for drawing one of the Moham-med cartoons printed in Jyllands-Posten in 2005 must be seen as an attempt to limit the freedom of speech and hinder public de-bate,” the sentence read.

The defence wanted Geele acquitted of terrorism and sought to reduce the prison time to a maximum of six years, while having the expulsion verdict re-moved completely.

But the Supreme Court

would not relent, and the sen-tence passed in the district courts was upheld.

“The high court finds that count one was of such a violent nature that, despite having a spouse and four young children, there is not enough evidence to overrule an expulsion,” the sen-tence read.

The sentence is the first of its kind in Denmark that has re-sulted in a terrorism verdict be-ing handed down for an attack on a single person. (CW)

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T he MaSSive crowd gathered in Fælledpar-ken to celebrate interna-tional Workers Day on

May 1 threatened to swallow up the small knot of Greenlandic hunters gathered by their tent on the edge of the grounds. Dressed in sealskins, handing out flyers and selling fur brace-lets, the hunters were at the park to enlist the support in their fight to save seal hunting as a way of life in Greenland.

exports of seal skin from Greenland have fallen from 60 million to 6 million since 2006, and Tønnes Berthelsen, a spokesperson for Greenland’s Professional hunting and Fish-ing Organisation (KNaPK),

greenlanders look for public support to continue seal huntinga spokesperson says local way of life is threatened by “professional propaganda campaign”

Ray WeaveR said that families in Greenland are suffering.

“These are not huge commer-cial enterprises,” said Berthelsen. “These are families that can no longer sustain themselves.”

Berthelsen said that inuit men can no longer take care of their families as they have for hundreds of years and women are being forced to try to find work.

Standing under a sign that read: “i’d rather be a seal in Greenland than a pig in Den-mark,” Berthelsen said the hunt-ers need help from Denmark.

“The people in Greenland are aware of the problem,” he said. “We need to get support from the Danes.”

Tightening eU restrictions on seal hunting, coupled with large stores like Magasin drop-ping seal skin products, are threatening to shut down seal hunting in Greenland, and Ber-thelsen isn’t sure why.

“There are 16 million seals in Greenland, and we only hunt 150,000 each year,” he said.

Berthelsen said that the hunters know that they have an uphill battle against what he called a “professional propa-ganda campaign” against seal hunting. he said that grisly im-ages of the blood of baby seals drenching the white snow don’t reflect the reality of Greenlan-dic hunters responsibly taking a small number of mature seals every year.

“Those pictures are not from Greenland,” said Berthelsen.

literature being handed out by the hunters stressed that Greenlandic seals were not killed only for their pelts and

that the meat was eaten by both humans and dogs.

Greenpeace, which normally comes down heavily against seal hunting, said it had no problem with the Greenlandic hunt.

“We have no problem with hunters in Greenland,” said Jon Burgwald of Greenpeace arctic in a statement. “The Green-landic hunt is sustainable. The problem has been in Canada, where stocks were threatened.”

industrialised seal hunting in Canada put seal populations at risk, and the animals were killed only for their skins.

Before heading to Fælledpar-ken, the hunters had earlier in the day staged a protest at Magasin’s location on Kongens Nytorv.

Magasin’s communications manager, Jan helle Skov, told Politiken newspaper that the ban on selling sealskin was not a Dan-ish decision, but came down from the store’s london headquarters.

Berthelsen said his group was ready and willing to go to london to continue their fight.

There are 16 million seals in greenland, and we only hunt 150,000 each year

T he PrOSeCUTiON has rested its case in the trial of the four men charged with terrorism

and illegal weapons possession in connection with an attempt-ed terrorist attack in 2010.

Munir awad, Omar ab-dalla aboelazm and Sahbi Ben Mohamed Zalouti, who are all Swedish nationals, and Mounir Ben Mohamed Dhahri, who is Tunisian, all face life sentences if convicted.

During testimony last week, a weapons experts called one of the guns the men had with them when they were caught “junk”.

Weapons expert Per Stou-gaard said that he never seen any thing quite like it in 25 years of police work. The bullets jammed, the magazine fell out, and al-though the weapon was techni-cally a machine gun, it was nearly impossible to get it to fire more than one round at a time.

“it can shoot, but it is not a good weapon,” said Stougaard.

That gun, along with an-other pistol and several hun-dred rounds of ammunition, was found in a backpack hid-den in a rented Toyota avensis that three of the suspects were driving when they were appre-hended outside of Copenhagen in late December, 2010. The fourth suspect was rounded up at an apartment he had rented in herlev.

Other testimony last week revealed that the group had been under surveillance by the Swed-ish security police Säpo since the autumn of 2010 and that the

The Greenlanders at Fælledparken (left) said that their way of life is threatened by the attacks on seal hunting as seen in the above file photo

level of monitoring increased in December of that year.

a female Säpo agent said that she had directed an op-eration code-named ‘aqua’ that gathered evidence that the four suspects were plotting to storm Jyllands-Posten’s Copenhagen office with assault weapons. evi-dence in the trial indicated that the 2010 Årets Fund, a high-profile sports awards ceremony that is held in the building, was the suspects’ likely target.

Jyllands-Posten has been the target of islamic-inspired terror ever since it published cartoons of the prophet Mohammed in 2005, drawing the ire of Mus-lims around the world.

Because of her sensitive po-sition inside Säpo, the identity of the woman was protected by the court and court artists were not allowed to draw her image. The woman refused to reveal the exact methods used against the suspects and only said that there were officers shadowing the men while they were in Sweden.

One of the accused admit-ted in court that there were weapons in the car, but claimed that he was bringing them to Copenhagen to be repaired. ac-cording to the suspect, the trip was planned to coincide with New year’s eve so that the sus-pects could enjoy what he called Copenhagen’s “famous” year-end fireworks. earlier in the tri-al, the defendants indicated that they were only after a Big Mac.

One of the lawyers for the accused told Politiken that he thought the prosecution had a strong case.

The four men have all plead-ed “not guilty” to the charges. The trial will continue through May and a decision is expected in mid-June.

prosecution rests case in terror trialsuspect says they were only in Copenhagen for the fireworks

Ray WeaveR

The attack occurred in the home of cartoonist Kurt westergaard

The four men are on trial in Glostrup Municipal Court

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711 - 17 May 2012 The Copenhagen posT CphposT.dk News

M embers of the Danish government were quick to con-gratulate France’s

new president, François Hol-lande, on his victory in the presidential election on sunday evening. The socialist Hollande defeated incumbent Nicolas sarkozy in the second and final round of voting.

Denmark’s foreign minis-ter, Villy søvndal (socialistisk Folkeparti), called Hollande’s election a victory for the left in europe.

“I was pleased to note that during his campaign, Hollande emphasised the importance of boosting employment in eu-rope,” said søvndal. “The Dan-ish government shares those ambitions.”

Prime minister Helle Thorning-schmidt (social-demokraterne) echoed søvndal’s support for Hollande.

“I look forward to close co-operation with François Hol-lande,” Thorning-schmidt said in a statement. “This is especially true in working to bring europe out of the financial crisis and focusing on job creation and

growth. both have been priori-ties for Denmark during our eU presidency.”

Danish politicians’ Twit-ter feeds were full of messages congratulating the new French leader.

“Hooray for Hollande,”

new red leader excites like-minded politcos

Ray WeaveR

danish politicians congratulate new French president

tweeted the environment min-ister, Ida Auken (socialistisk Folkeparti). “Now we can fi-nally bring some life back to europe and get young people back to work.”

margrethe Vestager (radikale), the economy minis-

ter, also tweeted her congratula-tions to Hollande. “Trés bien,” she wrote.

French media reported that Hollande defeated sarkozy by a razor-thin 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent margin, but French citi-zens voting in Denmark showed

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Copenhagen Career Program would like to invite you to an information meeting in Jobcenter Copenhagen, Musvågevej 15, 2400 København NV.

Wednesday the 16th of May at 12-14 pm

At the meeting you will receive information about:• Danish courses and course in Danish social conditions and

Danish culture and history• Measures promoting employment such as internship, em-

ployment with salary subsidy, mentor at the work place, upgrading courses and job seeking courses.

• Recognition of international qualifications• IO positions (Integrations- og oplæringsstillinger)

Following the meeting you have the chance to talk individually with a job counselor about your qualifications and career plans (for that purpose we recommend you to bring your CV).

Are you An AccompAnying spouse in pursuit of A cAreer And residing in copenhAgen?

Please register for the meeting by sending an e-mail, latest on Sunday the 13th of May to: cphcareerprogram@bif.kk.dk

A light refreshment will be served during the meeting.

Copenhagen Career Program is based in the Department for Integration and Language at Jobcenter Copenhagen, Musvågevej. The Department for Integration and Language is responsible for administrating the Integration Act in the municipality of Copenhagen.

much more support for their new president. Hollande re-ceived 65.4 percent of the vote from the 3,300 French voters in Denmark, while the outgoing president sarkozy received just 34.6 percent.

The turnout among French

voters in Denmark was signifi-cantly lower than in France. Just under 45 percent made it to the polling stations at the French school in Frederiksberg and the French consulate in Copenha-gen. Nearly 81 percent of the population voted in France.

with Hollande’s victory expected to have wide repercussions throughout europe, Danish leaders were quick to congratulate the incoming French president

8 11 - 17 May 2012THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DKOPINION

Seeking fashion’s seal of approval

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READER COMMENTS

When it comes to a showdown between the fashion world and Greenlandic hunters, your best bet would be on fashion. Whether it’s hoop skirts, platform shoes, jeggings or any

other bizarre trend, fashion has always shown that it is no match for reason. � at’s why Greenlanders aren’t going to get very far by arguing that their seal hunt is sustainable, or that it’s hypocritical to sell the skin of beef cows, yet ban the skins of seals caught for food.

But while fashion often de� es reason, when it comes to the busi-ness behind it, the guiding principle is economic rationale, and in this case Magasin’s sales � gures for the two products are all the proof it needs. Magasin sells hundreds of leather products. According to the chain’s spokesperson, there is no demand whatsoever for sealskin.

By banning the sale, the store’s management accomplishes two things. First, it frees up its shelves of a product no-one wants any-way. Second, it sends a signal to customers – and potential custom-ers – that it is a company that is in tune with our no-fur times.

Rather than being hypocritical, as the one side argues, or “re-sponsible”, as the opposing side, including the department store’s owners, argues, the reality is that Magasin is just making a smart business move.

Unfortunately for Greenlandic hunters appealing for fair treat-ment, this rationale means that it’s unlikely that Magasin or its par-ent company, Debenhams, would ban the sale of cow skin products until its overall sales started to su� er because it carried them.

Given that the EU’s ban on sealskin has an exemption al-lowing for the import of seal products from Inuit areas, there is certainly no legal reason why Magasin or Debenhams can’t sell sealskin. Should it come back into fashion, the stores would no doubt start stocking it again.

In the meantime, what’s a Greenlander to do? � e � rst thing is to look beyond the home market. Protesting

in Copenhagen is a natural move, but even more productive would be to promote sealskin in places that have a relaxed attitude towards fur. At the most recent auction in Copenhagen – one of nine held each year - some 5 million mink pelts were sold – at an average price of just under 500 kroner. Whether rich people in China and other fur-friendly countries would be interested in sealskin is hard to say, but even switching a small portion of those mink purchases to seal would be a start.

� e second thing Greenlanders should do is try to fashion a leisure suit from sealskin.

The left is our only hope

MIKAEL JALVING

ally and emotionally in order to give them the best start in life they could possibly get. Today, though, these types of families are viewed by the left as rich pigs who are only good for their tax contributions.

� ese children, or their par-ents, rather, shouldn’t show up at school thinking they are some-body. No, they should apologise for providing reasonably good homes for their children. And that’s why deputy mayor Vang wants to take funds away from their nursery schools and give them to underprivileged ones.

I know that for most, espe-cially those living outside Copen-hagen, this isn’t very important. But, this is where it all begins. Vang’s proposal is just part of a larger “redistribution” being con-sidered by the so-called govern-ment. Resistance to her proposal is just one battle in the great war against the welfare state.

Firstly, funding and resources are taken away from the ‘well-to-do’ nursery schools. Next in line are the ‘well-to-do’ kindergar-tens, elementary schools and high schools. � e underprivileged will become slaves to tolerance, and they will be told to demand even more from their masters. Next in line for this ‘redistribution’ will be universities and colleges. Schools with the largest numbers of underprivileged students will get more money, of course, at the expense of those with fewer.

Once school funding has been redistributed, it’ll be time to look at hospitals. Public hospitals in well-to-do areas (private hospi-tals will have been outlawed) will have their funding ‘redistributed’ elsewhere. As long as the welfare state’s existential question is ‘to

shut our mouths. � e only thing that works is when useful idiots like Özlem Cekic (Socialistisk Folkeparti) open their mouths and start going on about welfare moms like the now infamous ‘Carina’, who was found to be not so hard up after all, because when they do, it only serves to open the eyes of average Danes to just how grotesque the welfare state is and the kind if culture, society and economy it breeds.

Cekic is good for the cause. Very good. Unparalleled, I’d even say. But, Copenhagen’s ‘kinder-garten mayor’ Anne Vang (Social-demokraterne) will do in a pinch.

Vang is charming, and that’s an important characteristic – may-be the most important characteris-tic in our mass media democracy. Not even 30 and as naïve as a teen-ager, yet pretending to so hard to be grown up that it’s sickening.

Despite her faults, Vang, as deputy mayor for children, is al-lowed to make decisions a� ecting the lives of Copenhagen’s chil-dren and their parents. As tough as that is to take, though, we need to learn to love Vang – even those of us living outside Copenhagen – because people like her are ex-perts at running the welfare state into the ground.

How, you ask?Well, let’s start at the begin-

ning – at nursery schools. A nurs-ery school is a nursery school, most will say. But, it isn’t quite that simple. According to Vang, there are ‘well-to-do nursery schools’ and there are “underprivileged nursery schools”. At the former, you have the children of what used to be known as ‘the middle class’. � eir parents generally spend time interacting with them intellectu-

If you want to kill the welfare state, you just need to let its proponents do the job for you.� at’s got to be the conclu-

sion after years of unsuccessful e� orts to do just that by the right, the press and those whose opin-ions people listen to. � ey – and the rest of us who have repeatedly put in our two cents’ worth from the sidelines – have failed miser-ably. We’ve got nothing to show for our e� orts, but a lot of hot air and really bad karma.

� e only way to put an end to the welfare state and the utter misery it causes is to entrust it to its leading proponents. Criti-cising it seems counterproduc-tive. In the span of just 50 years, Danes have gone from being a hard-working people blessed with a low tax rate and strong sense of personal responsibility to the world’s most heavily taxed, the biggest complainers, and a people who will only listen to the truth if they want to believe it.

� ose of us who feel the wel-fare state’s disappearance would bene� t us all should all should

be or not to be underprivileged’, places like Frederiksberg will lose out at the expense of areas like Herlev and Hvidovre.

Believe me, ‘redistribution’ at the nursery school level is just the start. � e welfare state is being di-vided up into a � rst-class section for the underprivileged, and a last-class section for the rich – all the way from nursery school to grave.

In order to understand how this works, you need to realise that the ‘underprivileged’ will normally be immigrants or their descendants, but they could also be whites who have chosen to live in the wrong place. Proponents of multiculturalism like Vang favour reverse discrimination, but like-minded people living in other parts of the country might have to settle for whites.

But while the true cost of immigration from non-Western countries continues to be hidden, the welfare state’s universalist ideals will be undermined as its bene� ts become reserved for those su� er-ing from the right condition or liv-ing in the right area. Before long, the public sector will be reduced to turning people into victims.

It goes without saying that people will turn their backs on this parody of a welfare state in droves.

� ings have to get worse be-fore they can get better. � ose who oppose social democracy in word and in deed should wish the left good luck. � ey are our only hope. Only they can sink the wel-fare state.

� e author is a historian, author and columnist.

Originally published by Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

Fight for your right ... to party?

Ban drinking at this event and see how many people turn up then. You’ll soon � nd out it’s about go-ing for a party and not giving two craps about politics for the most part.Shu� emoomin by website

Well I am sure they are celebrat-ing May Day and not Workers’ Day since all o¡ ce workers (the ones supporting the welfare state with their high taxes) do not get the day o� to sit around on the grass and listen to the latest po-litical bullshit. I especially like the part of the article that portrays the typical youth in this country – while one is smoking drugs and has no clue, the other is there be-cause it feels like Roskilde Festi-val. And they want to change the voting age to 16 …Pc11 by website

“Over 40 percent of Danes be-tween 18 and 29 years of age say they are socialists.” Great, and I reckon most of that 40% say they are nationalists, too. Put them together and what do you get? Denmark!Nebsy by website

� ere is some seriously dodgy con« ation of May Day and Inter-national Worker’s Day going on there. Unlike International Work-er’s Day, the unrelated May Day - which has been around since the mists of pagan pre-Christian times and celebrates the � rst day of summer - has nothing at all to do with the Haymarket Massacre.Gri� enfeld by website

Contentious language in immi-gration debate back in spotlight

I believe that � e Copenhagen Post, as well as others, should stop using terms like ‘expat’ and ‘immigrant’ for di� erent ethnic groups - either stick to one or use another word/phrase altogether.Switchon2remote by website

“If he had been a redhead, I would have written that. If he had been bald, I would have written that,” Østbjerg told Journalisten.dk � at’s exactly the problem. In Østbjerg’s mind, the default hu-man being is a white man and has blondish hair. Notice he doesn’t describe the gender of the thief. OBVIOUSLY it’s a man, that’s the default human. Kel D by website

� e issue here is that the Danish term doesn’t automatically denote racist intent. I won’t pretend to speculate on what Østbjerg con-siders ‘normal’, but, look around internationally - whenever a minority of any kind commits a crime, their race will be high-lighted in the media.Nicole Grzeskowiak by website

Danish nurseries are in need of an overhaul, researcher � nds

His sample is downright massive. To dismiss anything this scholar says is to do a great disservice to the children, and future, of Denmark.Sarah Casey Rasmussen by website

I’m not commenting on the qual-ity of the research. But his sample was not ‘massive’. Certainly, his survey was huge (claims to have sent 40,000 surveys out). But the data come from only nine di� erent premises. Admittedly, the researcher spent a lot of time observing (8,000 observations in total (they must have been very short, though)). But it’s a PhD, and it certainly looks to have opened things up for further re-search into this.Nesby by website

Bring Euro 2012 boycott discussion down to earth

Oh, yes, the Danes, great defend-ers of human rights, international law, and international interven-tion - as long as it does not ap-ply to them. When the EU and the UN complain about Danish violations (immigration, asylum seekers, violations of the Schen-gen Treaty, the list goes on), Dan-ish MPs tell them to mind their own business. How hypocritical ..DanDansen by website

Government’s budget de� cit cut by 26 billion kroner

What great irony that Denmark is positioning itself as the great mas-ter of all things green and punish-es anything related to an automo-bile, yet the good ol’ North Sea Oil saves the day.� e1youlove2hate, by website

All modern politicians are the same. Educated in the same in-stitutions, willingly constrained by the same economic framework and out of touch with their elec-torate. Time for a fresh grass roots movement. TonyBall by website

911 - 17 May 2012 THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK OPINION

It’s worth asking the apologists what other outdated notions from the 1950s they’d like us to return to

A T THE RISK of beating a dead horse, this ‘Neger’ headline de-serves another look. For those who may have missed it, a head-

line from Dagbladet Roskilde on April 18 read: “Neger stjal bil fra 80-årig”. Translated, this reads as “Negro/n****r stole car from 80-year-old”. Now, any-one from the English-speaking world would know that those two transla-tions have quite di� erent connotations, and � e Copenhagen Post’s decision to translate it as the latter has come under some criticism.

Look, I’m not an etymology expert, but a quick look at the Wikipedia en-try for ‘n****r’ reveals: “� e variants neger and negar derive from the Span-ish and Portuguese word negro (black), and from the now-pejorative French nègre (n****r). Etymologically, negro, noir, nègre, and n****r ultimately derive from nigrum, the stem of the Latin ni-ger (black).”

In another words, di� erent branch-es, same tree. Both words have a compli-cated and painful history, and for many the use of either induces instant cringes.

Just as Dagbladet Roskilde’s editor Steen Østbjerg stood behind the paper’s decision to use the word, we stand be-hind our decision to call him out on its clearly negative and discriminatory tone.

And the nitpicking about the trans-lation overlooks the point. For one, the use of ‘neger’ is resolutely unnecessary in this headline. For another, both ‘Ne-gro’ and ‘n****r’ group people by their skin colour in a pejorative manner. And thirdly, if you really think ‘Negro’ is an A-OK word to use, try going to any major city in the US and calling a black man a Negro. I’m sure he’ll totally un-derstand your argument that it’s accept-able to use it in Denmark.

After the newspaper’s headline

choice became a story of its own, apologists of all sorts came out of the woodwork to defend it. Most of the arguments followed one of two lines of reasoning: either that the word is merely descriptive and not o� ensive at all, or that the word was acceptable in the past and therefore should continue to be so.

� ose who chose the � rst argument like to point out that the newspaper was merely using the 80-year-old woman’s own words to describe the car thief. But seriously, do they think for a sec-ond that if this old lady had said that a ‘fa**ot’ had stolen her car, that that par-ticular ‘description’ would have made its way into a headline? What if she had said it was a “Muslim terrorist” or sim-ply “a fat, ugly bastard”? Surely this line of defence then falls apart.

It was also argued that the headline’s ‘descriptive’ word would help apprehend the criminal. Ignoring for a moment the ridiculous notion that readers of Dagb-ladet Roskilde go out � ghting crime after their morning co� ee, the police later told Jyllands-Posten that it was, lo and be-hold, the make of the automobile – and not the skin colour of the perpetrator – that led to the car’s recovery.

As to the second argument – that the word was acceptable in the past – it’s worth asking the apologists what other outdated notions from the 1950s they’d like us to return to. Women as homemakers? Corporal punishment? A system akin to the US’s Jim Crow laws? � at something was okay 60 years ago is hardly an argument that it is okay today.

To be clear, many have condemned the usage of the word. And funnily enough, while Østbjerg was giving in-terviews defending the paper’s choice, his online team was busy changing the headline from ‘Neger stjal bil fra 80-årig’ to ‘Sort mand stjal bil fra 80-årig’

About that headline ...

Globus USA, also expressed dismay at the headline.

“Neger! � at’s a word that I had almost forgotten existed,” he wrote on the radio programme’s Facebook page. “Here in the US it would be completely unthinkable to use that word because it would be unquestionably perceived as

vehemently racist.”To prove his point, the radio pro-

gramme spoke with Akili Brown, a young African-American graphic de-signer, who called the headline choice – translated to the word ‘Negro’ – “naïve”, “sterotyping” and “o� ensive”.

And the word ‘Negro’ itself?“Its an outdated term. � ere are

many black people that would be heav-ily o� ended by the term,” Brown told Globus USA. “It’s just old, it’s inap-propriate, it doesn’t have any real place anymore.”

Granted, perhaps because Denmark doesn’t have such an ugly racial history as the US, it has largely avoided pain-ful conversations about what people should and should not say about one another. But lest we forget, for nearly two centuries Denmark was active in the Atlantic slave trade and thus shares at least a sliver of responsibility for the horrendous treatment one race of hu-mans su� ered at the hands of another.

But, can a country that is over-whelmingly white really be in a position to determine whether the word is racist or not? And given its long and brutal decade-plus campaign of demonising foreigners, particularly those who don’t look ‘Danish’, can Danes really be sur-prised that so many are unwilling to give them the bene� t of the doubt?

DA

CA

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.DK

Still AdjustingBY JUSTIN CREMER

A proud native of the American state of Iowa, Justin Cremer has been living in Copenhagen since June 2010. In addition to working at the CPH Post, he balances fatherhood, struggling with the Danish language and keeping up with the ever-changing immigration rules. Follow him at twitter.com/justincph

CPH POST VOICES

English-Australian theatre director Stuart Lynch has lived in Copenhagen since Clinton impeached his cigars and writes from the heart of the Danish and international theatre scene. He is married with kids and lives in Nørrebro. Visit his Danish theatre at www.lynchcompany.dk.

‘THE LYNCH REPORT’ English by nature – Danish at heart. Freelance journalist Richard Steed has lived in Copenhagen for nearly � ve years now. “I love this city and want Copenhagen to be a shining example to the rest of the world.”

‘PERNICKETY DICKY’ Born in 1942 on the Isle of Wight, Englishman Frank Theakston has been in Copenhagen 32 years and is on his second marriage, this time to a Dane. Frank comes from a di¢ erent time and a di¢ erent culture – which values are the right ones today?

‘TO BE PERFECTLY FRANK’ Clare MacCarthy is Nordic correspondent for The Economist and a frequent contributor to The Financial Times and The Irish Times. She’ll go anywhere from the Gobi Desert to the Arctic in search of a story. The most fascinating thing about Denmark, she says, is its contradictions.

‘MACCARTHY’S WORLD’

Hey, this used to be appropriate too – doesn’t mean that it still is

(‘Black man stole car from 80-year-old’) and � nally to ‘Mand stjal bil fra 80-årig’ (‘Man stole car from 80-year-old’). Seems not everyone at the paper shared his opinion.

David Trads, a US-based corre-spondent for Berlingske newspaper and host of the Radio24syv programme

10 11 - 17 May 2012THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DKPHOTO ESSAY

PHOTO ESSAY BY

JENNIFER TSE

Jennifer Tse is a photographer and journalist from Toronto, Canada. Currently she stud-ies in the international multimedia journalism and photojournalism programmes at the Danish School of Media and Journalism in Aarhus. Always in search of a great story, adventure and breakfast, she has had her photography and writing published in various major outlets in Canada, Germany and Denmark.

WELCOME to the lives of drug addicts and the homeless in Aarhus. Please check your preconceptions at the door.

I recently spent time with a handful of incredible individuals over the course of three days at three di� erent locations: a homeless man’s tent made from tar-paulin, cardboard, and wood; Nålepark-en (Needle Park), the only public space in Aarhus where junkies can freely shoot up; and Værestedet i Jægergårdsgade, a shelter and community house.

As an outsider, I was greeted with wariness and curiosity, but most of the

people I met were welcoming. With no certainty that they would ever trust me, I introduced myself and began by ask-ing them to tell me about themselves and how they had come to be where they were.

For three days we spoke, drank co� ee together and laughed. When they eventually became comfortable with my presence, they allowed me to photograph them, laying bare their su� ering, strength and � eeting depar-tures from sadness. A few of them also shared with me the very personal act of smoking or injecting heroin and other drugs – acts that many of them per-form daily just to get by.

� e result of my experience is a photo essay divided into two parts: one that depicts these people’s lives as de-� ned by their addiction and homeless-ness, and one that shows their lives as community members at Værestedet.

� rough this dichotomy, these fringe members of society are brought to the foreground, revealing stories that are at times shocking and tragic, but al-ways utterly raw and – though we often overlook or wilfully ignore it – human.

Two weeks ago we told you about the coming legal injection room in Vesterbro. But drug addiction is not con� ned to Copenhagen. Here is an up-close and personal look at the situation in Aarhus.

Three days with junkiesPart I: Life in Hell

ABOVE: Ulrik Szkobel, 41 and homeless, stands in front of a shelter he built for himself out of tarpaulin, cardboard and wooden boards near Aarhus Rutebilsta-tion. He uses cocaine, amphetamines, hash, ritalin, antidepressants, and antipsychotics. Inside the shelter, Szkobel hangs a lamp. Homeless for about three months, he describes himself as “atypical” because he is happy about his situation. “It was a � ght for everything: the next cup of co� ee, the next cigarette, the next warm place to sit,” he said. “The � ght made me live more. It was like I was my own master again.”

RIGHT AND BELOW: 34-year-old Rasmus, who did not want his full name revealed, prepares an injec-tion of amphetamines on a bench in Nåleparken in Aarhus, the only place where junkies can shoot up without harassment from the police. In and out of prison for most of his life, he started using heroin at the age of 20. Now he receives free heroin twice a day from Kontakthuset, a heroin re-covery clinic in Aarhus. Tortured by his past and his current existence, he speaks to high school students to warn them about the dangers of drug abuse. “If I can stop one person from doing what I’ve done, I’ve made a di� erence,” he said. “I can’t stop thinking about the people I’ve hurt because I needed to get drugs. Over the years, the veins in his arms have sclerosed (scarred) due to repeated use, leaving him with groin hits as a last resort. “I live in hell. There is nothing good about this life.”

ABOVE: Jimmy Kragh, 45, gasps and withdraws the blood from his arm as he injects a morning dose of heroin. “I need this to start my day, to make it through the day.” Kragh is homeless and a daily heroin user. “I used to be a butcher,” he said. “Not anymore.”

LEFT: Irag, a long-time regular heroin user, did not want his full name, face or age to be revealed. He smokes heroin, bought with his pension, in Nåleparken. Surrounded by heroin in his youth in Iran, he continued to use after moving to Denmark. Relapsing into heroin use despite multiple attempts at recovery, he is now separated from his family except for extremely brief visits. “I am trapped,” he said. “I am not happy. None of us really are.”

NEXT WEEK: ‘Life at Værestedet i Jægergårdsgade’– a look at the junkies’ lives at an Aarhus shelter and community house

1111 - 17 May 2012 THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK COMMUNITY

Thai ambassador Piyawat Niyomrerks and the president of KUKS, Eleanor Bomholt

Indonesian ambassador Abdul Rahman Saleh and his wife de-cided to take it easy

Albanian ambassador Arben Cici and his wife Korean ambassador Byung H Kim

The Japanese ambassador Toshio Sano and the deputy mayor for culture Pia Allerslev at hand were there to open the festival

In 2006, the city was given 200 cherry trees by a Japanese businessman, Seiichi Takaki, to celebrate the 200th birthday of Hans Christian Andersen. To celebrate the breathtaking cherry blossoms that bloom in the spring, the Copenhagen Sakura Festival Committee was founded in 2008. Since then, they’ve been organising the traditional festival, with the help of the Japanese Embassy in Denmark, annually. And once again, on April 28 and 29 what felt like the whole city came out to celebrate traditional Japanese art and culture

They were probably trying to look like Japanese cartoon characters. Ah well, at least they tried

Heavy rain fails to dampen the spirit of the Japanese Sakura Festival

Japanese ladies pointing at their traditional … soda? With plenty of kids activities to keep the little ones entertained, the festival was a great family day out

That looks more like it, a Nori – a crispy, salty, crunchy, teriyaki-� avoured snack

PHOTOS: HASSE FERROLD WORDS BY MIKE HOFMAN

12 11 - 17 May 2012THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

ABOUT TOWNPHOTOS BY HASSE FERROLD (UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED)

COMMUNITY

The Copenhagen Ink Festival was another well-attended occasion over the weekend at Tap 1 on Ny Carlsberg Vej in Vesterbro. Among those in attendance were (left-right) Lucky Hell, “the modern day sword-swallowing painted lady”, a lucky man who was also in for a waxing, headliner Zombie Boy with The Copenhagen Post’s Mark Millen and Inesa Lastauskaite (hands o� – we saw Zombie Boy � rst), and Edita, a visiting artist from Poland. Photos: Inesa Lastauskaite

Dutch ambassador Niek van Zutphen (right) held a special celebra-tion at his residence on April 30 to mark the birthday of the Dutch monarch, Queen Beatrix. Only it wasn’t her birthday, it’s actually the birthday of her deceased mother – a day that had become so much of a tradition, Beatrix decided not to change it.

Among those in attendance at the Dutch celebration were Indo-nesian ambassador Bomer Pasaribu and his wife – very suitably dressed in orange, it must be noted

Estonian ambassador Katrin Kivi (left) was proud to welcome her country’s president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves (right). Welcoming him on behalf of Denmark is former minister Mogens Lykketoft (centre), the chairman of the Danish parliament

Israeli ambassador Artur Avnon took to the stage to address those gathered to mark his country’s independence day at the Marriott Hotel on April 30.

Poland celebrated its national day on Tuesday with a reception at the residence of ambassador Rafal Wisniewski (left), and his wife Aneta Prasal-Wisniewska (second left)

South African ambassador Samkelisiwe Mhlanga (left), and her embassy sta� , celebrated her country’s Freedom Day with a cel-ebration at the Marriott Hotel on April 27.

DANES call it a sammen-skudsgilde. Other languag-es have their own versions,

but I’m certain they’re not what Google Translate suggested they were when I was writing this col-umn. I do know, however, that in English we call it a potluck dinner, and at Expat in Den-mark we call it ‘Expat Dinners’.

For the uninitiated, another round of Expat Dinners was due to take place as this issue hit the streets (� ursday May 10) at 19 locations around Denmark. � e concept is simple: you and your family bring along a dish of your national cuisine (don’t worry – you’re not expected to go the whole nine yards!) and share the food with those who you end up sitting down with. � at’s it.

� ere’s no big plan, no seating arrangements, no theme to follow or discuss, other than that – and you should know this as it is the

whole point of the event – there will be Danes there. Yes sir, Danes. Who have brought along some of their own national cuisine.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Danes coming to an event brining national cuisine means more pork that you can shake a stick at. And you’d per-haps have a point, so no need for expat variations on roast pork.

If there’s one gripe I hear from expats quite frequently, it’s that they don’t meet enough Danes, or at least Danes who are interested in making friendships with them. But at Expat Din-ners they will be there, because they want to be, because they, and their kids, want to meet expats. We’re not guaranteeing anything to anyone at the event: you’re all big boys and girls who can take care of yourselves, and kids nearly always get along with whoever’s around: we’re just pro-

viding a fun forum at which you can share some great food and meet other people.

� e locations are all the same: local libraries. Why the libraries? Well that’s easy: a cen-tral and simple facility that has a strong anchoring in the daily lives of a great many Danish families, so we make sure the event is interesting to the Danes who live close to you.

What’s more, libraries are destined to become a more cen-tral point of interaction with your local kommune’s services over the coming years, so it’s a good chance to get to know the sta� on a personal footing: you will need them down the line for something.

� e missing ingredient at the event is, of course, you: you can read more, choose a location and sign up – all at www.expat-dinners.dk.

Life is never dull at the national networking platform, Expat in Denmark. From ques-tions regarding complicated tax issues to ones about the Danish psyche, Craig Till has heard it all. Here he shares his insights about the issues that mean most to our community.

LIVING IN AN EXPAT WORLDhas

heard it all. Here he shares his insights about the issues that mean most to our community.

1311 - 17 May 2012 THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK COMMUNITY

COMING UP SOONExpat dinnersAll over Denmark; � u May 10; times vary; free adm; sign up at www.expatindenmark.com� e purpose of the dinner is to have an interesting evening where local expats can meet local Danes and vice-versa. Dinners take place at libraries all over Denmark. For a full list, check www.expatindenmark.com.

Workshop: Aarstiderneand the 80/20 plan Books&Company, So� evej 1, Hel-lerup; Wed 16 May, 19:00; adm 50kr; sign up at signup@book-sandcompany.dkSøren Ejlersen, the co-founder of Aarstiderne, will give a talk on the possibilities and challenges we face when it comes to the health and welfare of human be-ings and the planet we inhabit. As the icing on the cake, Ejlersen will demonstrate how to make vegetable juices that are not only delicious but also healthy. Deli-cious tastingss will of course be served! TK LINK FairMarriott Hotel, Kalvebod Brygge 5, Cph V; Wed 15 May, 11:30; free adm; www.linkdenmark.comLINK is a women’s expat group in Copenhagen. On May 15, they are organising an inaugural fair. For more information and to sign up, check their website.

EiD: Lori Webb - Making the Best of Your Expat ExperienceMarriott Hotel, Kalvebod Brygge 5, Cph V; free adm; www.expat-indenmark.dkIn this interactive talk, American expat, cross-cultural expert and author, Lori Webb, will present a variety of ideas of how you can get the most out of being an ex-pat in Denmark – professionally and personally.

French Film at Grand Teatret Grand Teatret, Mikkel Bryggers Gade 8, Cph K; Mon 14 May, 17:00; www.meetup.comTantalise your senses with French � lm ‘La Délicatesse’ (‘Delicacy’). � e group meets up at Grand Teatret’s café you’ll be able to recognise them by their French � ag. You have to pay for your own ticket and the � lm it-self starts at 19:00.

Have you got the optimal pension arrangement?Aon Denmark, Strandgade 4C, Cph K; � u 15 May, 17:30; free adm; www.bccd.dk� e sponsor of Manchester Unit-ed, Aon Private Consulting and the British Chamber of Com-merce in Denmark invites you to a meeting about how an inde-pendent broker can help you save time and money when choosing between pension providers. � is event is for BCCD members only.

Start-up Weekend FinanceCopenhagen School of Entrepre-neurship, Howitzvej 60, Freder-iksberg; Sun 13 May, 18:30; free adm; copenhagen� nance.startup-weekend.orgStart-up Weekend is an intense 54-hour start-up event that pro-vides the networking, resources, and incentives for individu-als and teams to launch their ideas. Get connected with local developers, innovators and en-trepreneurs. � e best idea wins 10,000kr.

StorytimeBooks & Company, So� evej 1, Hellerup; every Tuesday 09:30-10:00; Free Adm; for more information check www.book-sandcompany.dk/storytime-at-books-companyTuesday mornings at the inter-national book café are dedicated to inspiring and captivating the imagination of the little ones. � e wonderful storyteller Sara Albers, a teacher and a mother of two young boys, entertains the kids with stories, poems, � nger plays and small projects. � is is a fantastic way to start the day! TK

KATHERINE BALL

T his past weekend, � omas the Tank Engine and the Fat Controller left their home on the Island of

Soldor to visit the island of Fu-nen, the home of the Danish Railway Museum.

� omas left Percy, Gordon, James and all the other engines at home, but he had plenty of other trains to keep him com-pany for the four days he was in Odense. His Danish friends Fre-ja, Diesel and Mathilde were all glad to see him come back after last year’s visit.

But � omas’s visit wasn’t all fun. Freja was having trouble moving a naughty freight car, and � omas had to come and help out. It was hard work, but he got it moving – in fact he did such a good job that the Fat Conductor gave him a medal.

But when they were done, � omas and Freja were allowed to give all the boys and girls (and their parents) who came to see him rides in carriages that were older than Daddy, and even old-er than Granddad.

� omas thought it was so much fun to visit Denmark that he couldn’t help but give his whistle a big ‘TOOOT!’ before he returned to Soldor on Sunday.

KEVIN MCGWIN

� e star himself. Alone in Odense, but not without friends

� e model railway was a more familiar environment for many of the young visitors

� is young fan could barely contain his excitement

� e sun shone kindly, for once, as all and sundry enjoyed a great day out

EVERY year at least 350,000 women die during preg-nancy and childbirth. Strip

away education, class and skin colour and the realities of child-birth, its pain and its risks are the same for women all over the world. Here in the west we are the lucky ones, and maternal mortality is something we read about mostly in history books. For many women it is still a real threat today. As most deaths are caused by blood loss and infec-tion, simple and timely interven-tions can save lives.

Maternity Worldwide Den-mark is an organisation dedi-cated to reducing the rates of maternal mortality, and in par-ticular the plight of the women in the third world. With the In-tegrated Maternal Health Project in Western Ethiopia, MWW aims to improve women’s social and economic conditions and protect their reproductive health rights. � e plan is to document this experience into a working model to be replicated in other areas around the world.

MWW is marking Mothers’ Day this Sunday (13 May 2012) with a campaign about their new and exciting mobile phone project called ‘Wired Moth-ers’. It will come as no surprise to learn that for the expectant and labouring mothers of rural

Ethiopia there is limited access to healthcare when complica-tions arise. It comes as no sur-prise either to hear that in those circumstances the health risks of pregnancy and childbirth are multiplied. What is surprising is the discovery that many of these women do have access to mobile phones! MWW is now looking to use the mobile phone boom in Africa as a tool to save lives.

Imagine a clinic where a woman can register her preg-nancy (and her mobile phone number) and be given a number to contact in case of unusual symptoms or early labour. Imag-ine a text message to remind an expectant mother of symptoms to look out for or to advise of warning signs. Imagine a wom-an in labour with no medically trained health personnel around, but verbal instructions relayed by telephone to deal with an emer-gency until help arrives. Imagine a

midwife in a rural clinic faced with an unusual labour situation and no specialist expertise, but with an obstetrician talking her through emergency procedures. Imagine the lives that could be saved.

Pilot studies are taking place in Tanzania to � nd out in real terms the di¦ erence that us-ing mobile phones to connect women with health professionals could make. Here in Denmark, you can show your support for MWW’s ‘Wired Mothers’ cam-paign by buying a limited edition cover for your iPhone. Designer Christian Stadil, the man behind Hummel and Company Karma, has designed an exclusive phone cover bearing the words ‘saving lives in childbirth’. Buy yours at your local TDC store or at TDC online and support this amazing work.

Det må ikke koste liv at give liv! (It shouldn’t cost life to give life).

Saving lives on Mother’s Day

� e exclusive phone cover bears the words ‘saving lives in childbirth’

In the words of Ringo Starr: Bust my bu� ers, it’s Thomas!

MIKE HOFMAN

14 11 - 17 May 2012The Copenhagen posT CphposT.dksport

The Danish golfers had a good weekend at the span-ish Open in seville, with søren Kjeldsen finishing joint second and Thorbjørn Olesen putting in for joint fifth place. Kjeldsen be-gan the final day one stroke be-hind the lead, but a triple bogey by the Dane and a stellar round of 65 by italian Francesco Moli-nari saw Kjeldsen finish second.

Danish ice hockey player Mikkel Bødker is one step clos-er to the stanley Cup after his nhL team, the Phoenix Coyo-tes, dispatched the nashville Predators 4-1 in a best-of-seven series. Bødker scored one goal and dished out two assists in the series, and the Coyotes will now take on the Los angeles Kings in the Western Conference finals.

sTarTing in Denmark this year, the giro d’italia cycle race started over the weekend with two legs in herning and a third in horsens. While american cyclist Taylor Phinney leads the pack, Denmark’s alex rasmus-sen sits in third place as the tour moves to italy. Top Danish team saxo Bank are currently tenth in the team rankings.

DenMarK’s under-17 wom-en’s football team have quali-fied for the Under-17 european Championships in switzerland this June after beating Finland 3-0 in Ballerup. sweden was poised to win the group ahead of Denmark, but a loss to the neth-erlands sent the Danes through instead. sarah D hansen scored a brace for the Danish side.

kjeldsen numero dos Coyotes still howlingReady, steady, giro! Ladies finish off Fins

spoRTs news and bRieFs

Cool start in stockholm danish debut destroyers

Rachel Payne

London calling!

w iTh Less than three months to go before the 2012 London Olympic games

open on July 27, the Danish Ol-ympic team is still taking shape. so far the national Olympic Committee and sports Confed-eration of Denmark (DiF) has only made 28 official selections, but a large number of individuals and teams have almost certainly secured their places by meeting Olympic qualification standards in recent competitions.

With some sportspeople’s inclusion just a formality, and others’ hanging on qualification events that will take place over the next few weeks, Denmark could be set to field its largest Olympic contingent since the 1996 atlanta games.

Team Danmark’s head of Olympic sports, Per Boldt Jørgensen, is happy with the Danish sportspeople’s smooth preparations leading up to the London games.

“When we look upon it with Team Dan-mark’s eyes, everything is, until now, running as predicted and in ac-cordance with our goal setting with the differ-ent sports federations. and it seems today as if we will have over 100 participants,” he said.

The Danish Olympic team’s long-standing chef de mission, Jesper Frigast Larsen, is also confident about the team’s size and strength.

“i would be very disappoint-ed if we don’t reach 100,” he says. “all of our a sportspeople have qualified, except for a very few, so we also know that we have a lot of quality in the team.”

The DiF and Team Dan-mark predict that Danish sport-speople will win seven medals in the sports in which they have done well in recent World or european Championships, or equivalent events, or have high world rankings. swimming, handball and tennis are clear

focal points due to high profile international competitors like Lotte Friis, Jeanette Ottesen gray, Mikkel hansen and Caroline Wozniacki, and sail-ing, cycling, rowing, badmin-ton also feature serious medal contenders.

so which members of the Danish Olympic squad have the momentum going into the games, which ones are in for a challenge, and who is already out of the picture?

Whose star is rising?

DenMarK’s status in swim-ming has gained great momen-tum since 2008 when Friis won a bronze medal in the women’s 800m freestyle in Beijing. Friis won silver in the same event at the 2011 World Championships and Ottesen the women’s 100m freestyle came joint first in.

With rising stars rikke Møller Pedersen, Mie Øster-gaard nielsen and the Faroe

islands’ biggest sports name Pál Joensen making significant im-provements in the past year, the Danish swimming team could come home with several medals if things go their way.

“i think we’ll make seven or maybe even eight Olympic finals in swimming,” Team Danmark’s Michael andersen predicted. “For the last World Champion-ships in swimming Denmark was up near the top ten and that’s amazing.”

stine nielsen, a 21-year-old rifle shooter, picked up four gold medals at the national champi-onships and finished sixth in the World Cup in London in april. Frigast Larsen says that nielsen’s

quick progress has impressed the Danish officials.

“as she is so young, we are not promoting her as a big med-al hope, because a lot of things can happen. But she’s one that you should keep an eye on, be-cause if she has a perfect day, then she has the potential to be among the top.”sportspeople who made less ex-pected charges towards Olym-pic selection in april are track cyclist Lasse norman hansen, who won a bronze medal in the newly introduced Olym-pic discipline ‘omnium’ at the recent World Championships, bantamweight boxer Dennis Ceylan, who is likely to become Denmark’s first Olympic boxer in 16 years, and marathon run-ners Jessica Draskau-Petersson and Jesper Faurschou, who both came 22nd in the women’s and men’s divisions of the London Marathon.

Whose challenge is faltering?

CarOLine Wozniacki started 2012 as the world number one, but has since lost some mo-mentum, slipping to number six due to a string of losses to

top 25 players. Wozniacki has never passed the fourth round at Wimbledon, so her current dip in form will make her even less of a favourite on grass in London.

Denmark’s biggest hope in badminton, Peter gade, has also

suffered a blow to his Olympic preparations, losing his world

number four ranking, his top four Olympic seeding, along with his quarter-final match at the final Olympic qualification tournament in india. at 35, gade intends to retire after what should be his fourth Olympics, but his road to a potential first Olympic medal has just become a little more difficult.

Former top ten table ten-nis player Michael Maze won bronze in the men’s doubles at the 2004 athens games, but has been hampered by a knee injury in the lead-up to the London games. Maze opted out of the World Champion-ships in March after having already secured his place in the Olympic team.

Whose dead in the water?

The COnTrOversiaL gold medallists in the 49er sailing class in Beijing, Jonas Warrer and søren hansen, won’t get a chance to defend their title in London, missing their last opportunity to qualify when their World Cup race in France was cancelled. 2011 World Championship bronze medallists simon and emil Toft nielsen are also out of

the picture as they surprisingly announced their retirement from elite sailing in January.

Denmark won’t get a chance to cheer on their men’s or wom-en’s football teams in London either, which Jørgensen sees as the biggest gap in the Danish Olympic squad.

“When i look on the list [of sports], the only disappointment is soccer, because we hosted the qualification in Denmark.”

What’s next?

FUrTher ChanCes to rep-resent Denmark in 13 sports, including cycling, swimming, rowing and athletics, will be up for grabs from now until the be-ginning of July.

But the most focus will be on the Danish women’s hand-ball team, which was a disap-pointing omission from the Beijing Olympic programme. if the 2012 Danish Olympic contingent is going to reach its goal of 100-plus athletes, the women’s handball team must finish in the top two of its qualification series in Denmark against russia, Tunisia and the Dominican republic in May.

star table tennis player Michael Maze is a doubt for the olympics due to injury - not that he would have won anything anyway

W for winner swimmer: Lotte Friis remains her country’s best bet for gold in the pool

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while the final line-up is a long way from being finalised, denmark is expecting to take its biggest team since 1996

The Danish men’s ice hockey team have endured a rough start to the iihF World Champion-ships despite playing well in their 0-2 opener against the Czech re-public. That result was followed by a dour 3-4 overtime loss to the lowest ranked team, italy, and a creditable 4-6 defeat to co-hosts sweden. russia is up next on May 10 and then germany on May 12.

DeBUTing at gladsaxe sta-dium, their new official home, the Danish rugby league nation-al team thrashed sweden 122-8 on May 5. The swedes were attempting to avenge an 8-52 home loss to the Danes last year. The team will travel to Malta to take on the Maltese national side in June and then head to the UK in July to take on the raF.

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stine Nielsen has emerged as a surprise package in the shooting

1511 - 17 May 2012 THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK BUSINESS

Sterling was the only company ying from those smaller air-ports to the capital. Passengers from Aarhus and Aalborg can still get to and from Copenha-gen on SAS.

SAS has announced it is adding ights in light of the development but acknowledged that the bankruptcy of Cimber Sterling, which was their part-ner on several routes, will a� ect some SAS ights.

“It is inevitable that this situation will a� ect SAS tra� c,” the company wrote in a state-ment. “Our priority is those cus-tomers who purchased tickets from SAS.”

SAS’s statement calls Cim-ber Sterling’s bankruptcy “deep-ly regrettable” and says that SAS is working to get schedules back to normal as soon as possible, al-

Sell 5.56 5.56 7.34 0.07 0.18 0.81 6.08 9.06 5.60

Buy 6.07 6.02 7.57 0.07 0.20 0.85 6.28 9.43 5.87

AustralianDollarsAUD

CanadaDollarsCAD

EuroEUR

JapanYenJPY

RussiaRublesRUB

SwedenKronor

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UKPoundsGBP

United StatesDollarsUSD

Exchange Rates

Price in kroner for one unit of foreign currency Date: 9 May 2012

T HE DANISH airline Cimber Sterling has � led for bankruptcy after its owners decided not to

continue their � nancial support of the company.

“Because of this, the board of directors have decided to de-clare the company bankrupt,” the company said in a statement.

� e statement goes on to say that all of the airline’s ights are “provisionally cancelled” and that yers who had purchased travel insurance would receive a refund from the Travel Guaran-tee Fund.

Travellers who did not pur-chase travel insurance are pretty much out of luck.

Jan Palmer, Cimber’s CEO, said he was most concerned about the airline’s customers.

“� is is a sad day for Dan-ish aviation, for Cimber Sterling and for me personally,” Palmer told Jyllands-Posten. “But it is far worse for those passengers who have been left holding tickets.”

Jesper Hansen and his wife wound up stranded in Rome with a pair of worthless Cimber Sterling tickets. He did not pur-chase travel insurance when he booked the ights and must now buy two new tickets to get back to Denmark. Hansen acknowl-edged that not buying the insur-ance was probably a mistake.

“It would probably have been smarter to play it safe dur-ing these times when airlines are having trouble making money,” he told Jyllands-Posten.

� e bankruptcy hits domes-tic routes connecting Copen-hagen Airport to Karup, Born-holm, Sønderborg and Billund especially hard because Cimber

though they were not sure when that would be.

A spokesperson for Co-penhagen Airport said they are working to � ll the gap left by Cimber Sterling.

“We are looking at what we can do to � ll the hole,” the air-port’s communications o� cer, Anne Munck, told Jyllands-Posten. “� ese cancellations will not a� ect other tra� c at Copen-hagen Airport.”

Cimber had su� ered � nan-cial di� culties over the past cou-ple of years, leading to its partial sale to Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoyskyi in August 2011. It was his Cypriot-based company, Mansvell, that pulled the plug.

� e Sønderborg-based car-rier had operated for nearly 62 years since its founding as Cim-ber Air in 1950. It gained the Sterling brand when it bought Sterling Airlines in 2008. � e company operated about 25 planes.

What will ultimately hap-pen to Cimber Sterling’s routes, equipment – and more than 600 employees – is still uncertain.

� e company said that it hopes to resume ying some routes in the future to improve its value to any possible buyers.

Passengers left holding worthless tickets after airline cancels all routes

RAY WEAVER

Cimber Sterling goes bust

BUSINESS NEWS AND BRIEFS

AFTER a 2011 that saw the price of an average home drop by 120,000kr, homeowners have � nally received a bit of good news. Home prices nationwide rose in April by an average of 0.7 percent, new � gures from Boligsiden.dk revealed – the highest increase in seven months. � e average time on the market has also fallen.

Rare good news

More disappointing news from Vestas CEO Ditlev Engel

Bad news continues for Vestas

This is a sad day for Danish aviation, for Cimber Sterling and for me personally

CHRISTIAN WENANDE

EXPORTS in March fell by 3.8 percent while imports fell by 1.1 percent, new � gures from Statistics Denmark show. Despite March’s falls, however, the � rst quarter of the year saw exports increase by 2.4 percent and imports by 1.0 percent. In March, foreign trade yielded a pro� t of six billion kroner.

Exporting a pro� t

THE DANISH wind tur-bine producer Vestas may be on the verge of a major

round of layo� s.Despite posting revenue of

over 7 billion kroner, high costs and an increase in sta� have sent Vestas tumbling to a pre-tax de� cit of 1.7 billion kroner, a considerable deterioration com-pared to Q1, last year. At the same time, debts have increased dramatically by 2.275 billion kroner.

However, annual pro� t ex-pectations at the wind energy giant remain the same, between 48 and 60 billion kroner, but one of Denmark’s leading Ves-tas analysts, Peter Falk-Sørensen from Dansk Aktie Analyse, said that the quarterly � gures were disturbing.

“It doesn’t look so good. It’s a signi� cant de� cit,” Falk-Sørensen told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “Expenses are too steep at Vestas, and there is no doubt that the new board of directors needs to revamp the organisation. New orders don’t matter if the cost of operation is too high.”

� e quarterly report also indicates that Vestas has 22,576 employees, a 2 percent sta� in-crease from the previous year. But Vestas has set a goal of re-ducing their sta� by 10 percent by the end of the year, which will save them 1.1 billion kroner.

And things could get even worse for the Vestas employees. If the PTC subsidy agreement in the US is not approved, the wind company may have to lay o� even more than the projected 10 percent.

Yet, Falk-Sørensen maintains that there is also some encourag-ing news coming from Vestas.

“� e positive thing is that the volume of orders that Ves-tas is getting in is higher than ever,” Falk-Sørensen told Jyl-

The wind turbine giant could be heading towards the abyss and must restructure, analyst said

This year’s golf day will be held at Ledreborg Palace Golf Club, which has Scandinavia’s only course designed by Sir Nick Faldo, on Thursday 14 June . We have arranged both a tournament for experienced golfers, and a fun golf event for beginners.

The tournament will be a 4 person team (best 2 scores per hole per team) Stableford competition over 18 holes with a gun start for experienced golfers. It will be arranged to accommodate company teams, private teams and individual players in a way that will provide good networking opportunities. In addition to the Hole-in-one prize and tournament prizes, there will also be other attractive individual prizes. The beginners’ event will start with training from the Pro, followed by a competition and will give non-golfers and beginners an opportunity to learn the basics and have some fun! Equipment will be provided.

WIN AN ELECTRIC CAR! The first player to score a hole-in-one on the designated hole will win a Better Place, battery powered Renault Fluence ZE.

Book Now – there are a limited number of places available

Date: Thursday 14 June 2012Location: Ledreborg Palace Golf, Ledreborg Allé 2A, 4320 LejreTime: Arrival 07.00 – 07.30 AM, Gun start 09.30

Participation Fee: Main Tournament: Member/guest – DKK 1000 per player + moms Non-member – DKK 1200 per player + momsBeginners Event: Member/guest – DKK 900 per player + moms Non-member – DKK 1000 per player + moms

Participation fee includes breakfast, lunch, green fee etc. Players (with DGU card) that register and pay early (deadline 3rd May ) will be eligible to play a free practice round before the tournament. This represents a saving of up to DKK 595 on Ledreborg’s normal green fees. Registration fees are non-refundable but transferable.

Denmark’s only English-language newspaper

• official media partner

2012 BCCD-BIU Golf Tournament

BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN DENMARK

REGISTRATION: Online at www.bccd.dk or via email to event@bccd.dk by Wednesday 30th May at the latest. Please state DGU membership number in the “notes” section for each player entering the tournament.

Non-members are very welcome. Please contact BCCD or go to www.bccd.dk for further information.

lands-Posten newspaper. “But money needs to be made on those orders, and in that regard there is work to be done. But they say themselves that their expenditure � gures are too high. � e whole organisation needs a work-over.”

Vestas’s troubles have been well-documented. In 2008, be-fore the � nancial crisis started to grip, Vestas’s share price almost topped 700 kroner, but has since dropped to 46 kroner.

It was only a few weeks ago that rumours surfaced that two Chinese competitors, Gold-wind and Sinovel, were consid-ering buying Vestas – a move that could possibly spell the end of wind turbine production in Denmark.

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� e sign says, “O� ce closed due to bankruptcy.”

IF YOU’RE in the market for a new mobile phone, now might be the time to buy. Denmark’s four major mobile companies are engaged in a price war in or-der to woo customers in a satu-rated market. � e companies Telia, TDC, Telenor and 3 are o� ering lower prices, more talk time and bigger data packages.

Mobile price war

16 11 - 17 May 2012THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

Kindergarten and grade 1 assistants

The Kindergarten and Grade 1 teams are looking for additional Assistants to join the existing teams. The successful candidates should be qualified to work with children between the ages of 5 and 7 with a strong background and experience in early years’ education and with a minimum of two years of experience working in an early years programme. The position will start on August 1st 2012.

We are looking for early years’ educators who:• have a caring and nurturing approach with children• areorganizedanddemonstrateeffectiveclassroompractice• haveastrongworkethic• haveatrackrecordofbeinganeffectivecollaboratorandteamplayer• preferablyhaveknowledgeandexperienceoftheInternationalBaccalaureatePrimaryYearsProgramme.(IBPYP)

Primary & middle school danish teachers

We are lookingtofillonefull-timeandonepart-timeposition(60%)tojoinourteamofDanishteachers.ThesepositionsaretoteachbothDanishLanguageAandDanishasanAdditionalLanguage.The positions will start on August 1st 2012. The successful applicants should be qualified teachers with at least two years full time teaching experience. ThesuccessfulapplicantsmustbeDanishnativespeakers.

We are looking for teachers who:• candesigneffectiveanddevelopmentallyappropriatelearningopportunities• candemonstrateatrackrecordofexcellentclassroompracticeincludingin-depthunderstandingofdifferentiatedinstruction,secondlanguage acquisition and play based learning• haveastrongworkethicandexcellentorganizationalskills• haveatrackrecordofbeinganeffectivecollaboratorandteamplayer• have willingness and commitment to contribute to the development of the curriculum• have willingness and commitment to contribute to the greater school community• will demonstrate professionalism in its broadest sense• have a professional level of written and spoken English

contact details:Hellerupvej22-26,2900Hellerup

T+4539463311www.cis.dkmtj@cis.dk

coPenhagen international school is looKing to fill the folloWing Positions:

Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and grade 1 teachers

The successful applicants should be qualified teachers with a minimum of 2 years’ experience working within an early years programme. The position will start on August 1st 2012.

We are looking for teachers who have knowledge and experience of the international Baccalaureate Primary years programme (iB PyP), and who:• candesigneffectiveanddevelopmentallyappropriatelearningopportunities• candemonstrateatrackrecordofexcellentclassroompracticeincludingin-depthunderstandingofdifferentiatedinstruction,secondlanguage acquisition and play based learning• haveastrongworkethicandexcellentorganizationalskills• haveatrackrecordofbeinganeffectivecollaboratorandteamplayer• havewillingnessandcommitmenttocontributetothedevelopmentofthecurriculum• havewillingnessandcommitmenttocontributetothegreaterschoolcommunity• willdemonstrateprofessionalisminitsbroadestsense

interested candidates should email a letter of application, cV and contact details of three current referees as well as any further inquiries to mette trock-Jansen at mtj@cis.dk. the closing date for applications is may 31st 2012, however applications will be handled on an on-going basis and appointments may be made prior to this date.

Kindergarten and grade 1 assistants

The Kindergarten and Grade 1 teams are looking for additional Assistants to join the existing teams. The successful candidates should be qualified to work with children between the ages of 5 and 7 with a strong background and experience in early years’ education and with a minimum of two years of experience working in an early years programme. The position will start on August 1st 2012.

We are looking for early years’ educators who:• have a caring and nurturing approach with children• areorganizedanddemonstrateeffectiveclassroompractice• haveastrongworkethic• haveatrackrecordofbeinganeffectivecollaboratorandteamplayer• preferablyhaveknowledgeandexperienceoftheInternationalBaccalaureatePrimaryYearsProgramme.(IBPYP)

Primary & middle school danish teachers

We are lookingtofillonefull-timeandonepart-timeposition(60%)tojoinourteamofDanishteachers.ThesepositionsaretoteachbothDanishLanguageAandDanishasanAdditionalLanguage.The positions will start on August 1st 2012. The successful applicants should be qualified teachers with at least two years full time teaching experience. ThesuccessfulapplicantsmustbeDanishnativespeakers.

We are looking for teachers who:• candesigneffectiveanddevelopmentallyappropriatelearningopportunities• candemonstrateatrackrecordofexcellentclassroompracticeincludingin-depthunderstandingofdifferentiatedinstruction,secondlanguage acquisition and play based learning• haveastrongworkethicandexcellentorganizationalskills• haveatrackrecordofbeinganeffectivecollaboratorandteamplayer• have willingness and commitment to contribute to the development of the curriculum• have willingness and commitment to contribute to the greater school community• will demonstrate professionalism in its broadest sense• have a professional level of written and spoken English

contact details:Hellerupvej22-26,2900Hellerup

T+4539463311www.cis.dkmtj@cis.dk

coPenhagen international school is looKing to fill the folloWing Positions:

Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and grade 1 teachers

The successful applicants should be qualified teachers with a minimum of 2 years’ experience working within an early years programme. The position will start on August 1st 2012.

We are looking for teachers who have knowledge and experience of the international Baccalaureate Primary years programme (iB PyP), and who:• candesigneffectiveanddevelopmentallyappropriatelearningopportunities• candemonstrateatrackrecordofexcellentclassroompracticeincludingin-depthunderstandingofdifferentiatedinstruction,secondlanguage acquisition and play based learning• haveastrongworkethicandexcellentorganizationalskills• haveatrackrecordofbeinganeffectivecollaboratorandteamplayer• havewillingnessandcommitmenttocontributetothedevelopmentofthecurriculum• havewillingnessandcommitmenttocontributetothegreaterschoolcommunity• willdemonstrateprofessionalisminitsbroadestsense

interested candidates should email a letter of application, cV and contact details of three current referees as well as any further inquiries to mette trock-Jansen at mtj@cis.dk. the closing date for applications is may 31st 2012, however applications will be handled on an on-going basis and appointments may be made prior to this date.

We offer

• Customized Danish courses at your work place• Courses in written Danish for advanced

learners at your work place or at CLAVIS in Copenhagen, Greve and Roskilde

• One-to-one tuition

CLAVIS supplies Danish courses to a large number of international and local companies.

Contact CLAVIS for more information about courses that meet your individual needs:

Tel.: 40 60 53 99 E-mail: jam@clavis.org

WWW.CLAVIS.ORG

LEARN DANISH WITH CLAVIS

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T 3946 3050f 3946 3051

e info@sprogcenterhellerup.dkW sprogcenterhellerup.dk

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•Intensive Danish Courses•Day/Evening/Online Classes•Focus on Pronunciation

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Learn Danish fast and efficiently with

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www.cphlanguagecenter.dk | Valdemarsgade 16 | 1665 Copenhagen V

THE DANISH LANGUAGE IS 1200 YEARS OLD.YOU’LL LEARNIT IN TWO!

18 11 - 17 May 2012THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DKCULTURE

Who is ... Oddset Janni?

MALENE ØRSTED

She’s a Danish model and un-til recently the face of the state bookmaker.

What, Oddset?Yes, she’s the one who ap-pears in their ‘� ere’s so much women don’t understand’ com-mercials in a tight top with a confused expression as she tries to � gure out a piece of ‘hugely complicated’ football jargon – just like how most football fans prefer their women, some might say.

Well, she is a sweetie.Looks can be deceptive! She’s currently on trial for doping and milking an old, sick man dry for millions of kroner, along with two other people whose names have been withheld by the courts.

Oh my God, that’s horrible. Has she been sentenced yet?Not yet. � e verdict is expected at the end of May – she might get three years in prison if the prosecutors get their way.

What are her chances?She rejects doping and deceiv-ing him. Quite the contrary: she was his voluntary carer. Al-though she does admit receiving presents worth around 100,000 kroner.

Any chance he just gave her the money?Apparently he did want some money to go to Kattens Værn (the Cat’s Protection) – a fact that caused quite the outcry among the cat community.

Is there any other evidence?Let’s just say she’s living up to the ‘blonde’ image of her com-mercials, as she revealed all to, of all people, her ex-husband (Bitter? Moi?) about how she and the others on trial tricked the old man to travel to Zürich and open a bank account. He re-corded every word.

Surely there’s no way out of that one.Apparently she claims she was drunk and just trying to annoy her ex-husband.

Come on!We’ll just have to wait and see how this case turns out. � e poor old man died a few weeks after her arrest of natural causes – so maybe what happened in Zürich will stay in Zürich.

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FOR MANY, the name Roskilde is synonymous with music and instantly brings to mind thoughts

of four summer days of con-certs and camping.

In the near future, the tunes won’t be con� ned to just a few days in July, and fans will get the chance to enjoy rock music in Roskilde all year round.

� e long-planned Dan-marks Rockmuseum recently received the � nal � nancial dona-tions needed to start the project, which has been in the works for about ten years.

� e � nal � nancial support comes from Realdania, which kicked in 16 million kroner, and Bikubenfonden, which contributed three million. With those two amounts, the organis-ers have reached the project’s es-timated budget of 120 million kroner, according to Roskilde’s mayor, Joy Mogensen (Social-demokraterne).

“� e rock museum is an impor-tant future investment in Roskilde’s development, and I’m very pleased that Realdania has chosen to give such a generous donation that can

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complete the fundraising process,” he said in a press release.

At the rock museum, music fans will be able to see, listen and feel the history of Denmark’s popular music, from 1950s rock ’n’ roll through today. Visitors can even become music stars themselves with the possibility of recording their own versions of hit songs and the chance to perform in front of a virtual 3D audience at Roskilde Festival’s Orange Stage.

According to the museum’s manager, Frank Bikebæk, the museum will use music to com-

municate the importance of youth culture to societal devel-opment.

“We will try to create a mu-seum for young people, about young people, on their terms. We will try to engage them so they take part in creating the experience they will have at the museum,” he told Politiken newspaper, adding that “rock music is one of the few common references that exist across gen-erations today.”

And although the museum will focus on Danish music, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be

plenty to o¦ er for the non-Dan-ish speaking crowd.

“Danish musicians and art-ists are obviously inspired by other places like England and the USA, and those references will be on display,” Lise Ham-mershøj, a spokesperson for the museum, told � e Copenhagen Post. “� en there’s the sound lab, where you can play music, compose, sing and perform on stage. � at will be fun no mat-ter if you speak Danish, French, German or Spanish.”

� e museum is not only about rock, as it will also cover

other genres, which means or-ganisers need to stay up to date on the latest trends.

“When music changes we will keep up,” Birkebæk told Politiken. “Music is more than just rock, and so are we.”

Danmarks Rockmuseum will be something between a tra-ditional museum and a hands-on experience, and will be situated in a new area of Roskilde known as Musicon, which is dedicated to music and creative arts.

Located in a former indus-trial area, Musicon is a project aimed at supporting Roskilde’s position as a centre for popular music. � e museum will be part of the building complex ‘Rock magneten’ together with the new Roskilde Festival headquarters.

� e museum will be on Rab-alderstræde, which is mentioned in the Danish band Gasolin’s song of the same name.

One of the Gasolin band-members, Franz Beckerlee, has also donated the band’s old tour limo ‘Betzy’ – a 1961 Plymouth Fury – to the museum. When it opens, the limo might get a space in the entrance hall at the museum according to Birkebæk. Other Danish bands plan to do-nate instruments and parapher-nalia to the museum.

With the � nance in place, construction can begin in Feb-ruary or March of next year, and the museum is planned to open in the autumn of 2014.

Breivik show will go on, director vowsCHRISTIAN Lollike, the

artistic director of Café Te-atret, says he has no plans

to drop the play based on the manifesto written by Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik.

A story that appeared on Monday afternoon on the web-site of public broadcaster DR seemed to indicate that Lol-like was planning to cancel his controversial piece, ‘Manifesto 2083’. Lollike seemed to indi-

cate that he felt Breivik’s public trial had accomplished what the director had stated were the goals of the play: namely to “de-mystify” Breivik and allow the public to hear the murderer’s own voice.

But Lollike now says that was a misunderstanding on the part of DR.

“� ere is nothing to the story, and DR has promised to correct it. We are not cancelling the play,” Lollike told Berlingske newspaper. “� e trial obviously a¦ ects us, but I will only drop the play if I cannot write any-thing interesting.”

‘Manifesto 2083’, which is scheduled to premiere in the au-tumn, was to be based on a man-ifesto Breivik published contain-ing his personal philosophy, racist propaganda, diary entries and bomb-making instructions. Lollike said the point of using Breivik’s own material was an at-tempt to show how a seemingly

normal man could turn into a uniform-wearing mass killer who killed 77 Norwegians last summer.

Lollike said he now plans to change the play to include mate-rial other than the manifesto.

“All I can say right now is that the entire play will not be based on the manifesto,” Lollike told Politiken newspaper.

Lollike has been the subject of controversy since he announced in January that Café Teatret would stage a play about Breivik. He was accused of being insensi-tive to the victim’s families and giving a mass murderer attention in a crass e¦ ort to sell tickets.

Pia Kjaersgaard, the leader of Dansk Folkeparti, was one of the most vocal critics of the play, and she remains opposed to its production. “It is insensi-tive and distasteful even to think about turning this unspeakable tragedy into a play,” Kjaersgaard told DR Kultur.

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Long-planned rock museum clears � nal � nancial hurdlesand will open in 2014

MALENE ØRSTED

RAY WEAVER

Director says he has no plans to drop play based on mass- murderer’s manifesto

An artist’s rendition of what the museum will look like when it is built next year ahead of a 2014 opening

Christian Lollike claims he was misrepresented in a DR story claiming the play would not go ahead

1911 - 17 May 2012 THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK DENMARK THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Long before Morten and Jesper, this gang ruled the roost

MALENE ØRSTED

� e Olsen Gang starred – Egon (Ove Sprogøe), Kjeld (Poul Bundgaard), screenwriter and director Erik Balling, and Benny (Morten Grunwald) – in a series of 14 heist � lms, made primarily between 1968 and 1981, with the last in 1998

Fondly remembering Denmark’s favourite criminal family ahead of the release of their new � lm, this time in 3D, next year

ALEXIS KUNSAK

TWO is company and three means trouble. One trouble-some trio, the Olsen Gang, have been leaving a trail of laughter

and disaster behind them since the late 1960s. And now the gang is picking up where it left o� – with a 3D-animated ­ lm release planned for next year. Con-sidered Denmark’s answer to � e Marx Brothers and Britain’s successful Carry On ­ lms, the Olsen Gang starred in a series of 14 heist ­ lms, made primarily between 1968 and 1981, with the last in 1998. � e trio famously make bizarre mechanical contraptions to carry out their devious plans, making use on oc-casion of balloons, forklifttrucks, folded newspapers, cases of beer, and several Chevrolets – mostly 1959-1960 Bel Air models.

Language is no barrier to the sim-ple pleasure of seeing a plan hatched out, especially when the list of items required starts out as three balloons, a stopper and an empty bottle. Each ­ lm begins with mastermind Egon Olsen being let out of prison. Egon is a tiny man with great energy dressed in a blue suit and a grey bowler hat. He is permanently smoking the same

stubby cigar and walks with purpose through each scene. � e shots of him being released from the same state prison every time – Vridsløselille in Albertslund – have made the building famous. In fact, the road leading to it was renamed Egon Olsens Vej in 2004.

Egon always leaves prison with a plan, giving orders to his two lackeys. Benny is the giggler, with a goofy shu� e step and brightly-coloured socks. He can also open locks and operate all kinds of machinery with the skill of a techni-cian. Kjeld is the fat sidekick, always rushing to catch up the other two, often breaking things and getting o� ended. He does much of the heavy lifting, tool hauling and grunt work – none of which leads to any loss of girth.

Danish scriptwriter Henning Bahs initially created a story about a group of small-time crooks who have the same daily concerns as any other group of people. Erik Balling, the man behind the popular Danish TV show ‘Matador’, and Bahs wrote

the scripts to-gether, com-

bining their a� ection for

creative machinery with social satire. Egon never wins because he underes-

timates the diabolical schemes of the white-collar criminals he is up against. He does not use real violence or steal from classes apart from the ­ lthy and il-legally rich. As the police comment about themselves in a Nor-wegian version of one of the ­ lms: “� e only thing the police can do when the real big crim-inals come by is o� er them protection.” � e

role of the little-guy against corporate and government entities, especially the taxman, is celebrated by the three anti heroes, although Egon nearly always winds up in prison at the end.

� e ­ lms are considered family clas-sics in Denmark, but were also so popu-lar that Norway and Sweden each made their own versions called ‘Olsenbanden’

and ‘Jönssonligan’ respec-tively. � e Norwegian

­ lms also further pro-moted the role of a side character called ‘Dynamite Harry.’ In Eastern Europe, particularly East Germany, the Olsen

Gang also achieved notoriety well be-yond that in the West. � eir popularity is explained by the ­ lms’ ability to slip past Soviet censors while still mocking authority ­ gures. Other reports blame the poorly-dubbed versions released in West Germany, while the East Germa-ny’s releases of ‘Die Olsenbande’ were dubbed by the company Deutsche Film AG.

With car chases involving a hot-headed driving instructor, a Morris Minor laden with furniture, a Renault station wagon chopped in half and in-numerable stacks of barrels tumbling down, the ­ lms are simply great visual fun. � e characters use a vaudevillian-style physical humour in their schemes to steal money. � ey release balloons with lit strings to simulate gun shots, spill a whole cart full of apples into the street and send a loose train car of singing policemen into the Carlsberg Brewery. Regular explosions and narrow misses are part of the experience, but no one is ever truly injured. At the request of Balling, the theme music for the ­ lms was composed by Bent Fabricius-Bjerre, a Danish composer and pianist. � e ba-sic Dixieland-style melody was written in a form that could easily be adapted to all kinds of moods and instruments – even accordions and

castanets. Once Egon’s plan has been

outlined and the necessary equipment has been listed, the music sets the tone of the action.

� e police generally play the role of disinterested or misguided, social-climbing bureaucrats. � ey simply cannot be bothered with many cases, according to Inspector Jensen, the main police ­ gure in the ­ fth Olsen Gang ­ lm. Other main characters include Kjeld’s wife Yvonne, who plans on be-coming a productive part of society once they become rich. She makes end-less plans for their future lives as good citizens, as well as the honest career of their son, Børge. He enters the ­ lms as a ten-year-old and gradually be-gins helping the Olsen Gang, though Yvonne disapproves in her piercing, high-pitched tone of voice.

More recently, the Olsen Gang have returned as entertainment for a younger audience – ­ rstly as a television show about the childhood of the Olsen Gang and in a 2001 ­ lm called Olsen-bande Junior. In 2007, Nordisk Film produced a 3D-animation ­ lm of the Olsen Gang, entitled, ‘� e Olsen Gang on the Polished Floor. After its positive reception in theatres, it was released on DVD in Danish and Russian, with a German version due out this month. In 2013, a new 3D-animation funded by the Danish Film Institute – ‘� e Olsen Gang in Deep Water’ – is expected to have its premiere.

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Egon never wins because he underestimates the diabolical schemes of the white-collar criminals he is up against.

THE COPENHAGEN POST CPHPOST.DK

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’S FAIR 2012

THE COPEN

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CONTaCT us: ChildreNs-fair@CphpOsT.dk

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suNday, 17 JuNe, 201214:00 - 17:00Valbyparken

hammelstrupvej 41 • 2450 københavn sV

• meeT OTher families •• meeT Clubs TO JOiN fOr yOur ChildreN•

• COme aNd eNJOy •mini show of the Copenhagen police with their k9s and motorbikes

The Copenhagen libraries waffle wagonpony rides and other animals courtesy of børnenes dyremark

face painting, crafts & balloon artistslive sports activities by dGiraffle for danish red Cross

(items to be raffled “two vouchers for a two night stay with breakfast & vouchers for a 4-person dinner including drinks at midtown Grill, courtesy of the marriott hotel Copenhagen)

iiiiiiiiiJOiN us aT The ChildreN’s fair!

international and danish professionals and their families

iiiiiiiiiiiJOi

JOiiJOiiN iN ii us ai

iiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiikfast & vouchers for a 4-person dinner including drinks at midtown Grill,

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