US embassy angers Danish veterans by removing flags

US President Donald Trump last week angered some allies by downplaying the role of non-US NATO troops in the Afghanistan war, saying in an interview that NATO troops "stayed a little back, a little off the front lines".

In response, 44 Danish flags, which carried the names of the 44 Danish soldiers killed in Afghanistan, were put up on Tuesday in flower beds outside the US embassy in Copenhagen.

A video published by Danish media showed embassy staff taking down the flags on Wednesday morning.

The embassy originally told Danish media that it had removed the flags because they had been put up without coordination with the embassy.

In its statement to AFP, it also noted that "flags, banners, signs, and other items are sometimes left near the embassy" following demonstrations, and while not prohibited they are usually cleaned up by guard staff at the end of their shift.

It said the flags placed there on Tuesday had been removed "in accordance with this policy".

But politicians and veterans' representatives condemned the move.

"This was an unnecessary action, which has been perceived as a provocation by many Danes," Carsten Rasmussen, chairman of the Danish Veteran Association, told AFP.

Many felt Trump's comments represented "a betrayal" of their brothers in arms, he added.

- 'Completely unacceptable' -

Jens-Kristian Lutken, a Copenhagen city official representing the Liberal Party (Venstre), called the embassy's move and the questioning of Danish efforts in Afghanistan "completely unacceptable".

"We have fought alongside the Americans in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere, and we have lost many soldiers in Afghanistan -- per capita, as many as the Americans have lost," he told broadcaster TV2.

Following the news of the removal, new flags were put up on Wednesday.

By Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of small Danish flags had been put up in the flowerbeds, TV2 reported.

The embassy told AFP that  "additional flags subsequently placed are currently in place and will remain so".

"If the American ambassador is fully aware of what is going on in Denmark, then they will know what this is all about," Rasmussen told AFP about the original move to take down the flags.

"They will know that it seems like a provocation." 

The Danish Veteran Association is also planning a silent march towards the embassy on Saturday.

jll/phz