Territorial question

Eighty-five per cent of Greenlanders have rejected US President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for the US to take control of their island, insisting that the status of their country must be decided by its people. “We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders declared. “We would like to emphasize once again our wish that the United States’ contempt for our country ends.” They argued that the future of Greenland, which is an autonomous Danish territory, must be decided in dialogue and in accordance with international law. “No other country can interfere in this,” they said. “We must decide the future of our country ourselves, without pressure for quick decision, delay or interference from other countries.” Greenland’s defence is provided by Denmark.

Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen warned that a forcible American takeover of Greenland would bring about the collapse of NATO as it would pit the US against Europe, which supports Denmark’s stand in this dispute with Trump. He seeks to expand the territory of the US, increase the US military deployment on the island and gain unfettered US access to Greenland’s mineral deposits.

Greenlandic artist and public figure, Potter Pilu Chemnitz told the BBC that Greenlanders “are all very tired of the U.S. president [and] just want to be left alone.” The majority of Greenlanders support eventual independence from Denmark which provides billions of dollars in subsidies and provides protection.

When the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway separated in 1814, Greenland became a colony of Denmark. This ended in 1953 when Greenland merged into the Danish state and following a 1979 referendum, Denmark granted home rule to Greenland. While it joined the European Union (EU) in 1973 as part of Denmark, Greenland withdrew in 1985 due to disputes over fishing and subsequently attained special status due to its association with Denmark. Greenlanders are both Danish and EU citizens and Greenland benefits from its partnership and secures EU funding.

Thanks to its northern location, cold climate and the thick ice sheet which covers 80 per cent of its territory, Greenland has a millennial history of failed colonial rule. Greenland’s current population of 57,000 is 88-90 per cent Inuit indigenous people who are a distinct nation which shares ancestry, culture, and the Greenlandic language. They are descended from the ancient Thule people who originated in Alaska, spread to Canada, and entered Greenland in the 13th century where they interacted with Viking seamen from Scandinavia who raided European coastal areas. Greenlanders have historically relied on hunting and fishing for subsistence.

To justify his drive to acquire Greenland, Trump has falsely claimed that Chinese and Russian warships are “all over the place” in the island’s waters. Greenlander officials and citizens consider Trump’s comments nonsense while Denmark argues it spends billions for Greenland’s defence and has deployed naval patrol boats to conduct continuous surveillance of the sea around Greenland. Under a defence pact with Denmark and an agreement with NATO, the US has stationed 150 troops at Ptuffik Space Base. This amounted to a drastic reduction from 6,000 during the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union which ended in 1991. The present US deployment shows that even the Trump administration does not fear Russian or Chinese encroachment on Greenland. Consequently, Trump’s alarms are false and intended to make him the centre of attention.

During his first term, Trump made 30,573 “false or misleading,” statements, 21 a day, according to a 2021 report in the “Washington Post.” Between his first and second terms he falsely rejected as a “fraud on the American people” the result of the US 2020 presidential election which was won by Joe Biden. So far, the count of “false or misleading” statements during is second term has not been published but his controversial comments on Greenland are likely to be among them.

Why is Trump focusing on annexing Greenland? He wants to secure a large, strategically, potentially rich chunk of territory for the US and to put his name on the acquisition. There is even a US precedent for this. In 1887, the US purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire for a sum of $7.2 million dollars. The person in charge was US Secretary of State William Seward. While a majority of US citizens approved, opponents dubbed it “Seward’s Folly,” or “Seward’s Icebox.” While Russians left Alaska few US citizens settled there until 1896 when the Klondike gold rush began. Alaska became a state only in 1959 although it brought vast wealth to Alaska and the US. Greenland could become “Trump’s Icebox” and yield riches from exploitation of its mineral resources.

Trump has a penchant for putting his name on real estate – hotels, residential blocks, and golf courses – from New York to Seattle, Dubai to Manila. He has named Trump-class battleships in the US naval fleet and the Trump-Kennedy Centre for Performing Arts. His take over of the Kennedy Centre’s board and adding his name to the centre, created considerable criticism in Congress, since the cultural centre was intended to memorialize slain US president John F. Kennedy. The imposition of his name has prompted the Washington National Opera and key star performers to sever connections. The Kennedy Centre example shows Trump has gone too far with his claiming game.

Photo: TNS