[citation needed] 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.
[citation needed] Danish law clearly granted the Tamil refugees the right to family reunification, thus rendering the justice minister's order illegal.
He also wrote a five hour long, dramatized monologue Mens vi venter på retfærdigheden ("While we wait for justice") about the affair.
[2] The case is well known in Denmark due to an infamous speech given by Prime Minister Poul Schlüter, wherein he stated that "nothing has been swept under the rug", which became a common Danish catchphrase.