Denmark Demonstrates Double Standards on Migration Crisis – Turkish Media

Even though the photo of a Syrian refugee kid playing games with a Danish police officer already became viral, it will never change the fact that Denmark is poised to close its doors to Syrian asylum seekers, the Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported.

First and foremost, the newspaper referred to a previous statement by Danish Immigration, Integration and Housing Minister Inger Stojberg, who said that Denmark is not going to take part in the EU's plan to settle 160,000 asylum seekers throughout the Union.

"…We won't participate in the redistribution of these 160,000 therefore I don't think this is in any way something dramatic from a Danish viewpoint," she said.

Stojberg cited Copenhagen’s non-signatory status to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as well as the share of refugees for which it had originally committed.

Secondly, the Daily Sabah recalled that several Lebanese newspapers recently published Danish-sponsored social advertisements to warn possible refuge seekers about amendments to the laws on refugees in Denmark.

In the advertisements, Denmark announced that all social benefits have been halved, waiting times for those seeking a permanent residence permit have been set at five years and refugees will not be allowed to bring their families to the country.

In this sense, the newspaper concludes, it is safe to assume that the photo of the Danish police officer playing with a Syrian refugee on social media "raises doubts about whether the coverage could be part of media manipulation."

About 500,000 migrants have already crossed in the EU since the beginning of this year, with thousands more yet to arrive. The European Commission said that the current migration crisis is the world's worst since the end of the Second World War.