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FAROE ISLANDS

Faroe Islands to hold election after minister sacked for homophobia

The prime minister of the Faroe Islands called for early elections Wednesday after sacking a minister over homophobic comments caused him to lose his majority in the local parliament.

Published: 10 November 2022 14:51 CET
Faroe Islands to hold election after minister sacked for homophobia
People enter a polling station in the Faroe Islands to vote in the Danish parliamentary election on October 31st. The nation will now hold its own election for parliament. Photo: Álvur Haraldsen/Ritzau Scanpix

“After meticulous examination and consulting party heads, I have reached the decision it is time to call for parliamentary elections” on December 8th, Prime Minister Bardur a Steig Nielsen said.

The premier on Tuesday sacked his foreign minister Jenis av Rana over homophobic remarks, causing the Christian party he heads to withdraw from the ruling coalition in the local parliament.

The islands in the North Atlantic, an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark, have a local parliament, as well as two seats in the 179-seat Danish parliament.

During the run-up to the Danish parliamentary polls last week, av Rana sparked controversy by saying that he could not back the head of Denmark’s Conservatives Søren Pape Poulsen if he became prime minister because he was gay.

Negotiations to form the new Danish government are ongoing, but Poulsen is now out of the running to become PM after his party performed poorly in the election.

A few days ago, av Rana then again stirred debate by opposing double-barrelled surnames for the children of lesbian couples.

Home to some 54,000 inhabitants, the Faroe Islands have been largely autonomous from Denmark since 1948.

They are still highly dependent on fishing and have an autonomous commercial policy, but are not part of the European Union.

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FAROE ISLANDS

Faroe Islands resumes controversial dolphin hunt

The Faroe Islands has killed more than 500 dolphins since its controversial hunt resumed in May, local authorities in Denmark's autonomous territory in the north Atlantic said on Thursday.

Published: 15 June 2023 13:42 CEST
Faroe Islands resumes controversial dolphin hunt

In the Faroese tradition known as “grindadrap“, or “grind” for short, hunters surround pilot whales and dolphins with a wide semi-circle of fishing
boats and drive them into a shallow bay where they are beached.

Fishermen on shore slaughter them with knives.

Every summer, images of the bloody hunt make headlines around the world and spark outrage among animal rights defenders who consider the practice barbaric.

“Yesterday there were two grinds, one with 266 catches and the other one with 180, according to the first reports,” a Faroese government spokesman told AFP.

The two “grinds”, which involved a species of dolphin known as pilot whales, brings to five the number of “grinds” so far this season.

Environmental NGO Sea Shepherd, which managed to disrupt the 2014 hunt with its boats, criticised the fact that Danish navy vessels are authorised to intervene to block environmentalists from disrupting the hunt.

But the hunt still enjoys broad support in the Faroes, where supporters point out that the animals have fed the local population for centuries and accuse media and foreign NGOs of disrespecting local culture and traditions.

They typically kill around 800 pilot whales a year.

In 2022, the government limited the number of Atlantic white-sided dolphins that could be killed per year to 500, after an unusually large slaughter of more than 1,400 sparked an outcry, even among locals.

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