Turkey coup attempt sparks tension among Turks in Denmark

Meanwhile, Danes traveling to Turkey are advised to keep passports at hand and ready for random checks

Lucie Rychla

Jul 22, 2016

Last week’s failed attempt at a military coup in Turkey has sparked tensions among the Turks living in Denmark.

The community is divided between supporters and opponents of the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the discussions are particularly fierce on social media.

A private school in Slagelse in west Zealand, which has a preponderance of students of Turkish background, was sprayed with initials AKP and RTE with reference to president Erdogan and his party over the weekend.

Conflicts in Germany
However, the situation in Denmark is not as tense as in neighbouring Germany, where several thousand German Turks have gone into the streets to demonstrate either against or in support of the Turkish president.

According to Deniz Serinci, a Danish journalist and historian with Turkish-Kurdish roots, Danish Turks do not have the same tradition of violent demonstrations.

Most of them used to be peasants before they immigrated to Denmark, while many Turks in Germany have an academic background.

According to Statistics Denmark, there are about 62,000 people with ancestral background from Turkey living in Denmark and form the largest minority in the country.

Keep passports at hand
Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry advises all Danes traveling to Turkey to be vigilant and keep their passports or IDs at hand at all times.

On Wednesday, President Erdogan announced the nation is imposing a three-month state of emergency, which gives police the right to carry out random identity checks and document inspections for vehicles.

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