Thousands of protesters joined a silent march to the US embassy in Copenhagen organized by Denmark’s Veterans’ Association to decry recent controversial comments by US President Donald Trump.
In a TV interview last week, the US president downplayed the role of non-US NATO troops in Afghanistan, saying they “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines.”
His comments came amid heightened tensions with several European NATO allies, most importantly Denmark, over his aggressive push to take over the semi-autonomous Arctic island of Greenland, which is part of the Danish Kingdom.
What do we know about the Danish veterans’ march?
Police told the French AFP news agency that “at least 10,000” took part in the march, while organizers said the turnout was between 8,000 and 10,000.
Protesters braved subzero temperatures to march from Copenhagen’s Kastellet, or citadel, where a brief ceremony was held at the monument to fallen soldiers. Protesters then marched all the way to the US embassy, some 1.5 kilometers (0.9 miles) away.
“The demonstration is called #NoWords because that really describes how we feel. We have no words,” the vice president of the veterans’ association, Soren Knudsen, told AFP.
Thousands of protesters braved subzero temperatures to voice their dismay at Trump’s wordsImage: Emil Helms/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP
Some of the protesters waved red and white flags, the colors of the Danish flags. Others were dressed in military uniform.
“What Trump said was very insulting,” Henning Andersen, who served as a Danish UN soldier in Cyprus, told AFP. “I have friends who were down there. Some of them were wounded, and they carry the war with them even today.”
Forty-four Danish troops were killed in Afghanistan, the highest per capita death toll among coalition forces.
US embassy action causes more controversy
On top of Trump’s remarks, tensions flared even higher after US embassy staff removed 44 flags protesters had placed in planters outside the US embassy during a Tuesday protest. Each flag carried the name of one of the 44 Danish troops killed in Afghanistan.
The embassy then apologized and replaced the flags.
“We have nothing but the deepest respect for Danish veterans and the sacrifices Danish soldiers have made for our shared security. There was no ill intent behind the removal of the flags,” the embassy said in a post on its social media outfits.
Noting that the planters were embassy property and not in the public domain, the embassy said the placement of the flags during the protest had not been coordinated with embassy staff.
On Friday, the US ambassador placed 44 Danish flags in the flowerbeds, with an additional 52 flags planted on Saturday with the names of the 44 soldiers who died in Afghanistan and the eight soldiers who died in Iraq.
A minute of silence was also observed outside the US embassy.
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Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
