The Tamil Case ( Danish: Tamilsagen) was a case about

family reunification Family reunification is a recognized reason for immigration in many countries because of the presence of one or more family members in a certain country, therefore, enables the rest of the divided family or only specific members of the family to ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s from the Sri Lankan Civil War. The affair led to the

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

of the government led by

Poul Schlüter Poul Holmskov Schlüter (; 3 April 1929 – 27 May 2021) was a Danish politician who served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 1982 to 1993. He was the first (and to date, only) member of the Conservative People's Party to become Prime Minister, ...

in 1993. The scandal was first uncovered in a series of articles written by Nils Ufer in ''

Weekendavisen ''Weekendavisen'' (meaning ''The Weekend Newspaper'' in English) is a Danish weekly broadsheet newspaper published on Fridays in Denmark. Its circulation (as of 2007) is approximately 60,000 copies, about ten per cent of which cover subscription ...

''. Ufer later dramatized it in the play ''Mens vi venter på retfærdigheden''. (While We're Waiting for Justice). He received the

Cavling Prize The Cavling Prize () is a Danish journalist award. It is awarded annually in January to "a journalist or a group of journalists who have shown initiative and talent in the past year." The Prize commemorates Henrik Cavling, founder of the Dani ...

for his work on it posthumously in 1992.

Background

The case began in 1987, when the government examined the possibilities of decreasing the number of Tamil family reunifications. Following this, the Minister of Justice Erik Ninn-Hansen decided to stall the advance of family reunification of Tamil refugees. Danish law clearly granted the Tamil refugees the right to

, thus rendering the justice minister's order illegal.

Media

Nils Ufer Nils Ufer (17 June 1939 – 2 January 1993) was a Danish journalist and editor. He received the Cavling Prize for his coverage of the Tamil scandal for ''Weekendavisen'' in 1992, and also wrote the five-hour single-character play ''Mens vi venter ...

uncovered the affair in series of articles in ''

''. His articles relied on information from confidential interrogations of civil servants. In 2011, former ''Weekendavisen'' editor-in-chief

Tøger Seidenfaden Tøger Seidenfaden (28 April 1957 – 27 January 2011) was a Danish journalist and political scientist, and, from 1993 until his death, editor-in-chief of the broadsheet newspaper ''Politiken''. His father, Erik Seidenfaden, was also a journali ...

disclosed that Ufer's secret source was

Hans Gammeltoft-Hansen Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...

. Ufer received the

posthumously for his coverage of the scandal in 1992. He also wrote a five hour long, dramatized monologue ''

Mens vi venter på retfærdigheden In ancient Roman religion, Mens, also known as Mens Bona (Latin for "Good Mind"), was the personification of thought, consciousness and the mind, and also of "right-thinking". The founding ''( dies natalis)'' of her temple in Rome was celebrated ...

'' ("While we wait for justice") about the affair. It played at

Café Teatret Café Teatret is a theater in Copenhagen, Denmark, that was established in 1972. It is located in Skindergade. The company stages new Danish plays as well as Danish premieres of foreign plays. One season usually sees between four and eight produc ...

in Copenhagen with Peter Larsen in its only role and was also broadcast on DR1 in 1992.

Consequences

When the case appeared in the media, several political parties opposed a re-election of Ninn-Hansen, and others demanded an investigation. This ultimately led to his resignation as minister of justice in 1989. Four civil servants in the Ministry of Justice were charged, and the minister of justice was

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

, which led to the resignation of the government in 1993. In 1995, Ninn-Hansen was found guilty in three cases of abuse of power, and received a

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

of four months imprisonment.''Thi kendes for ret. Dokument. Rigsrettens dom over forhenværende justitsminister Erik Ninn- Hansen afsagt 22. juni 1995.'' Weekendavisen, 23.06.1995, 1._sektion, Side 3 The case is well known in Denmark due to an infamous speech given by Prime Minister

, wherein he stated that "nothing has been swept under the rug", which became a common Danish catchphrase. (Der er ikke fejet noget ind under gulvtæppet).

References

1993 in Denmark Political scandals in Denmark Weekendavisen Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora Refugees in Denmark {{Denmark-poli-stub