Yahoo- AFP,
8 Sep 2015
Migrants,
mainly from Syria, walk on a highway near Rodby, Denmark on
September 7, 2015
toward Sweden, where they hope to seek asylum (AFP Photo/
Bax Lindardt)
|
Copenhagen
(AFP) - Police in southern Denmark late Monday closed a motorway as groups of
refugees marched towards the border with Sweden, known for its more generous
asylum policies.
"This
is being done for the safety of the people who are walking along the
motorway," local police said in a statement after closing the first 29
kilometres (18 miles) of the road from Rodby harbour in southern Denmark to
Copenhagen.
Earlier in
the day, up to 150 refugees began marching towards the border but many later
agreed to be taken to police stations to register for asylum in Denmark.
Prime
Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said at a Monday press conference that around 400
refugees had entered Denmark over the past 24 hours but doubled that number to
800 a few hours later.
"We
cannot just ignore our obligations and send them to Sweden without its consent,
because then we would be doing the same as many other countries, which is the
reason the European asylum system is under massive pressure," he said.
As more
refugees arrived in Denmark's south there were also more people taking to the
roads to walk towards Sweden, which asylum seekers typically reach by taking
the train across a bridge linking Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmo.
The bridge
is not open to pedestrians.
Refugees,
mainly from Syria, speak with a Danish policeman after arriving in
Rodby from
Germany on September 7, 2015 (AFP Photo/Jens Noergaard Larsen)
|
Many of
those walking on the motorway raised their hands as they shouted: "Malmo,
Malmo, Malmo," the Politiken daily wrote.
Around 100
Danes had gathered on a bridge crossing the road to hand out food and diapers
to the walkers, who had only covered a fraction of the 160 kilometres between
Rodby and the capital.
Laila
Saied, an engineer from Syria, said she had travelled through Europe with her
husband and two children for one month in the hope of reaching Sweden.
"I
slept on the street, I was on the sea with my children," she told
broadcaster TV 2 News earlier in the day.
Prime
Minister Rasmussen said he had told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that
Denmark was willing to accept 100 refugees from Germany "given the very
special situation Germany and Europe is in."
While
Sweden has become a top EU destination for refugees by issuing permanent
residency to all Syrian asylum seekers, Denmark has sought to reduce the influx
by issuing temporary residence permits, delaying family reunifications and
slashing benefits for newly arrived immigrants.
Related Articles:
Palestinians in Gaza City put flowers on a sand sculpture of Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, a symbol of the migrant crisis pic.twitter.com/a8XBTW4eLW
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) 8 september 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.