Why not ban Palestinian flags from windows instead of calling for the government's flag ban on thin ice?

The Danish government is introducing a ban on flying flags other than the Danish flag.

During a May Day demonstration this year, a photographer spotted a Palestinian flag from a balcony. With the proposal, one can still hang for example a Palestinian flag out of a window or from a balcony. (Photo: © Anthon Unger, Ritzau Scanpix)

By Tobias Leth Klinge ([email protected] ) 29 minutes ago

If the Social Democrats' government has its way, it will only be possible to hoist the Danish flag and a few select foreign flags in Danish flagpoles in the future.

And there is support for the proposal from several of the blue parties. It is clear that the proposal was debated in the Folketing's chamber earlier today.

However, not everyone was ready to press the green button right away.

Both the Conservatives and the Danish People's Party demanded that the new legislation also make it possible to ban such things as Palestinian flags, which hang from windows and balconies in some parts of the country due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

- There should be no doubt that we would have liked to see that this legislative proposal was not such a thin cup of tea, said Dansk Folkeparti's legal affairs spokesperson, Mette Thiesen.

She told how she had taken a tour in Aarhus, where she went through the old part of the city in sunny weather. There, according to the orator, hung a Palestinian flag out of the window of an old timber-framed house, which "ruined the Danish idyll," as she put it.

- Can the minister not see that with this flag law, it is still possible? And does the minister not think that it should not be so?, she asked.

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Desire for a ban on all real estate

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The Conservatives stated during the debate that the ban on flying foreign flags should apply to all real estate.

The proposed ban only covers flagging from a flagpole of common height, which means about four meters. This means that one can still hang for example a Palestinian flag out of a window or from a balcony.

- Just as we do not want other flags to wave in the flagpoles, it should also not be the case that one can flag with the flags one wants in for example housing estates or ghetto areas, said Conservative's legal affairs spokesperson, Mai Mercado.

Despite the fact that Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard considers the two parties' arguments relevant, he said that there are several considerations that the government had to take into account.

- We have tried to find the right balance between, on the one hand, respecting the freedom of expression one can have on one's private property, and on the other hand, upholding the special status we believe Dannebrog should have, said Peter Hummelgaard.

Listen to the exchange between Mette Thiesen and Peter Hummelgaard here:

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'I am not a hippie'

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The legislative proposal comes as a reaction to a Supreme Court ruling from 2018, in which a man was acquitted for flying an American flag, which he had previously been fined for.

This led Søren Espersen and the Danish People's Party to submit a legislative proposal in the chamber ( https://www.ft.dk/samling/20231/beslutningsforslag/B9/som_fremsat.htm ) that would require the government to ban the flying of foreign nations' flags.

And during today's debate, Søren Espersen was also very pleased that the government had done exactly that.

Despite the new law, it will still be possible to hoist the Ukrainian flag. If one wants to fly another country's flag, there is also the possibility of applying for permission from the police. (Photo: © Ida Marie Odgaard, Ritzau Scanpix)

However, both the Red-Green Alliance, the Left, and the Liberals have a different view on the proposal.

They all believe that the proposal goes too far.

- Why should Christiansborg decide what hangs in people's gardens? I am not a hippie who believes I must decide over others' property, said Steffen Larsen, legal affairs spokesperson for the Liberals, during today's debate.

SF's legal affairs spokesperson, Karina Lorentzen, did not think that one could be against the proposal to ban the burning of the Quran on the grounds that it is an infringement of freedom of expression if one also thinks that one should ban the flying of different flags.

- We believe that Denmark and Danish culture can exist as a nation, even if there are other flags in the top of the flagpoles, said she from the Folketing's speaker's podium.

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